While Sasuke reversed his mother's car out of the garage, his family was saying goodbye to Naruto for the last time. He got out of the car and saw his father shake Naruto's hand, and then he turned to Mikoto. She gave Naruto a long hug. By the time he walked up to them, the other boy had moved on to Itachi.

"Don't forget to call me should you get bored with my brother's company," Itachi told him.

Naruto grinned. "I doubt that will happen, so can I call you anyway?"

Itachi glanced at Sasuke first. "I think that's also acceptable. I'd love to hear from you."

"Alright then," said Naruto. "Have a safe trip back. Maybe I'll see y'again sometime soon?"

"I'm sure I'll be back this summer. You're always welcome to make a visit with Sasuke. You can keep him out of trouble."

"Heh." Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Er. I'll try my best." He sort of thrust himself at Itachi, hugging the older man.

Itachi looked surprised, but he quickly returned the embrace, patting Naruto on the back.

"Bye then," Naruto said, giving the family a wave. "Thanks again for havin' me."

"Bye, son," said Fugaku. "Give your father our regards."

"Bye, dear," said Mikoto. "Feel free to stay over anytime you want."

Sasuke, taking Naruto's backpack from him, opened the back door and dropped it on the seat. Naruto got in on the passenger's side; Sasuke got in, too, and handed Naruto his sunglasses.

"You always forget these."

"Ah, yeah. Sorry. Thanks for rememberin'."

Naruto put them on and waved one last time to his parents and brother. Sasuke put his arm around the back of Naruto's seat as he reversed into the turnaround.

"What did my mother say to you?" Sasuke asked as they drove onto the main road that led to the interstate.

"Just stuff," he replied, staring out the window.

"Are you okay with me driving you all the way? It'll be about 30 minutes."

"I should be fine." He turned to look at Sasuke. "Thanks for askin'."

"So, what are you going to do once you get home?"

"Dunno. Play video games?

"Sounds exciting," he said dryly.

"I'd ask you to stay, but you already said y'wanna hang out with Itachi."

"I can stay for a while if you really want me to and it's alright with your dad."

"He'll probably go into the office anyway," Naruto replied. "I swear all he does is work. Even on the weekends."

"Is there that much to be done on a Sunday?"

Naruto shrugged and went back to staring out the window. "Dunno."

Sasuke turned on the radio, and once they were on the highway, Naruto asked him what he was up to tomorrow.

"After Itachi leaves, I'm not sure. Father's going into work and mom has the day off. I'll probably go to the gym. Why?"

"Just wonderin'."

"Did you want to do something tomorrow?"

"Nah. It's okay. You sound busy. I'll probably walk around or go see a movie."

"Naruto," he said, switching into one of the other lanes. "You have my number. Whenever you want, you can give me a call."

"M'kay."

"I don't need to pull over, do I?" He asked.

"Why would you do that?" Naruto removed his glasses to look at him.

"You're not being very talkative, so I thought maybe you were getting anxious."

"I don't always have to be super talkative. Maybe I'm just thinkin' about stuff."

"Alright," he replied. "I only wanted to make sure."

For the rest of the drive, they spoke only occasionally, but Naruto came around again as they approached town, reminding him of when they'd taken the bus on Friday and he'd had all kinds of questions. Sasuke drove by a few places on the way that he thought Naruto might find interesting. Eventually, they found themselves circling the block near Naruto's apartment, searching for an open parking spot.

"Sorry. We only have the one parking space in the garage."

"It's alright. I don't mind parking on the street."

"Drivin' around in big cities makes me all nervous. I've got bad road rage."

"Really? I find it relaxing."

A white car pulled out of one of the spots, so Sasuke quickly claimed it.

"Ah, you're good at parallel parkin'," Naruto said to him. "I'm impressed."

"It's a helpful skill when you live around here." When he stepped out of the car, he opened the back door and got out Naruto's bag. They'd dropped Naruto off that one day, but it's not like he'd gone in or anything.

"I can take that," Naruto told him.

"I don't mind. Just lead the way. I don't know where I'm going."

The day was nice, and the sun was out. A lot of people were walking on the sidewalk. Naruto and his father lived just outside downtown center, in a residential area where there were several parks and cafes. They walked side by side, close enough that their arms bumped. They passed a couple of girls who looked to be about their age. He expected Naruto to turn his head and gawk, but he didn't.

"They were totally checkin' you out, Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced at him. "What makes you think they weren't checking you out?"

"Because you purposely had to style your hair that way and dress like a rocker. Tryin' to show me up in my own neighborhood. I look like a total slob in comparison."

Sasuke smirked. "I think you look hot. The less you do to your hair, the better it looks."

"Heh. You're just sayin' that."

"Hardly."

They came to the entrance of the apartment building, which was a nice, modern complex. There was an older man at the door who knew Naruto by name. He greeted them and exchanged a few comments with Naruto about the weather.

"Ah, my key. It's in my backpack." Without warning, he spun Sasuke around and started digging through one of the pockets. "Here they are. C'mon."

Naruto caught hold of his wrist as he unlocked the door and then dragged him into the lobby, his sneakers squeaking on the shiny black tiles. There were some tall potted plants on either side of the entrance to where two elevators were located. Naruto pushed the button, quietly humming as they waited. He still held onto Sasuke's wrist.

"Are you going to hold onto me the entire way up?" Sasuke asked.

"Huh? Oh." He noticed and immediately let go. "Sorry. Must be a habit now."

"Mhmm." He smirked. "Because you're so pushy."

"Shut up."

The elevator doors opened, and they went inside. Naruto hit the button for the seventh floor. There were fourteen altogether. They didn't have far to walk since Naruto lived in 703. He used his keys to get in and once inside, left the door open for him.

"Shoes," Naruto said, smirking.

Sasuke glared.

"I'm kiddin'. We're not very strict around here."

Sasuke removed his anyway and placed them beside a larger pair that he assumed belonged to Naruto's father.

"Dad!" Naruto yelled. "I'm back, and we have company just so y'know!"

"That was right in my ear, idiot."

Naruto ignored him. "C'mon, I'll show you around. Not that there's much to see."

The entranceway led to an updated kitchen on the left. The whole apartment was an open design with a dining room and living room, all of which Naruto pointed out despite their obviousness. He brought Sasuke to the wide windows and sliding doors that led to a small balcony, where there was a grill, a table and four chairs, and a few potted plants with tiny purple buds beginning to sprout.

"We used to grill at our old house a lot, but we don't do it so much here."

"I'm sure it's been too cold to do much grilling anyway," said Sasuke.

"I guess. Plus it rains here all the damn time. I dunno where Dad is; maybe he's in the shower. I'll show you my room."

Following him, Sasuke noted several framed family photos as they went down another short hallway off the kitchen. There were two bedrooms, an office, and a bathroom.

"Ah, maybe he's not here. I texted him earlier and said we were comin' home."

"Maybe he's doing some errands," Sasuke suggested.

"Maybe. Well, this is my room." Naruto opened the only closed door to a room that was surprisingly neat. "Dad made me clean it before he'd let me come over to your house. He still treats me like a kid."

Sasuke wanted to comment about that, but was too distracted by all of the... stuff. Although it was clean, there were lots of things. Naruto's bedroom was about as big as his, but the bed seemed smaller - a full instead of a queen. The walls were a pale blue-grey, and there were pictures everywhere, all taped to the walls. There was a small, mounted flatscreen and a couple of gaming consoles with several games stacked up beside them. He wanted to go through those, but he was drawn to all the mismatched frames on Naruto's dresser. Curiosity getting the better of him, he went to look at them and was immediately struck by one of Naruto, an older blond man and a beautiful young woman with long, red hair. Naruto was a lot younger, maybe about 5 or 6.

"My parents," Naruto said, walking up next to him. "That's my mom. Isn't she pretty?"

"Very," he replied. "You obviously ended up with your father's hair, though. May I?"

"Sure."

Sasuke picked up that particular picture. His parents were holding Naruto's hands, and they were swinging him between them at a place that looked like a carnival. After studying it for a long while, he, gently, set it back on the dresser. Sometimes he picked up other photos (there were at least 10) and studied them. In the meantime, Naruto flopped down on his bed.

"It's weird havin' you in my room," Naruto said.

"Why's that?" He asked, setting down another photo.

"I'm not sure."

Sasuke turned to him, hands in his jean pockets. "Because this is the place where you secretly fantasized about me this week?"

Naruto chuckled. "Maybe that's it."

He walked by Naruto's desk, where there were several trophies and ribbons from various little league and junior varsity baseball tournaments. There were some other general athletic awards and more photos. There was a photo of Naruto in a skullcap, standing next to another boy with auburn hair. Naruto had an arm around him and was trying to look tough.

"Is this Gaara?" He asked.

"Oh, that one? Yeah. It's when he and I went up to Wisconsin to do some snowboarding."

"You snowboard?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, a bit. Do you?"

"I've done it a few times."

"Right, your mom said you guys go on a lot of ski vacations. We should go some time."

"We should if your baseball schedule permits it."

Sasuke walked to the side of the bed that Naruto wasn't occupying and, with a sigh, fell on top of the lumpy comforter.

"Tired?" Naruto asked.

"A little."

"Havin' you in my bed feels dangerous."

"Why's that?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Just because."

"Is this you being territorial?"

"Could be. It's probably 'cause those girls were checkin' you out."

"Naruto," he said. "I wouldn't be interested in them even if they were checking me out."

"So you admit they were checkin' you out!" Naruto pointed at him, but Sasuke slapped his finger away.

"It's not polite to point, idiot."

Naruto rolled onto his side, propping his head in his hand. He hesitated at first, but then, looking more confident, set his hand on Sasuke's stomach.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked him.

"Nothing." Naruto moved his hand and started playing with his belt buckle. "I like this belt. It looks like you could really hurt someone with it."

"I'm sorry, did you want me to take it off so that I can hit you with it?"

Naruto laughed. "Is that somethin' you're into, Sasuke?"

"I could be if it was with the right person." He smirked.

"Kinky bastard."

"Like you're not? You who has a penchant for dirty talk and mind games."

Biting his lip, Naruto returned his hand to Sasuke's stomach. "I guess I just have an open mind when it comes to sex."

"No kidding," Sasuke blurted.

Naruto looked at him in surprise before laughing again. "I suppose doin' stuff with you fits into that category, too, huh?"

"Maybe so."

Naruto sighed. "I really didn't invite you in here so that I could keep makin' out with you."

"No? That's too bad. Maybe I should go home then." Sasuke started to get up, but Naruto grabbed for his hand and pulled him back on the bed.

"No."

Sasuke was on his knees, beside Naruto, still holding his hand. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want you to."

"Why should I do what you say?"

"You don't want to go either."

"No?" He asked. "You know what I want?"

"Not always," Naruto answered. "But some of the time, yeah."

Sasuke stared at him before he let his gaze travel to where the other boy's shirt had ridden up, revealing part of his stomach and a blond trail of hair that stopped short of his belly-button.

"Could you be more obvious?" Naruto laughed and gave him a hard tug that caused him to fall forward on all fours.

"Must you always be so rough?" Sasuke asked, and when Naruto let go of his hand, he pushed Naruto's shirt further up, leaned down, and kissed his stomach. He started above the waistband of his jeans and went as far as his navel before crawling the rest of the way on top of him.

"You were the one talkin' about hittin' me with your belt," Naruto murmured.

"You do strike me as someone who needs more discipline."

"Oh ho, and you're the one who should give it to me?"

Sasuke leaned closer. "I should give it to you."

"Okay," Naruto said, spreading his arms out across the bed. "Give it to me, Sasuke."

"Not if you're going to be facetious."

"That's too big of a word for me to be it," Naruto replied.

"Playing dumb might work on other people, but it doesn't work on me."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Dunno what you're talkin' about."

There was a knock on the door, and Sasuke automatically moved off of him.

"Really?" Naruto asked, sitting up and giving him a glare. "You're such a pussy."

"Naruto, are you in there?"

Naruto slid off of the bed and opened the door. "Hey, Dad."

"I went to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner." He peeked inside the room. "Is that Sasuke?"

"Yep," Naruto said curtly. "He dropped me off. I asked him to stay for a bit."

Sasuke got off of the bed, trying to straighten his shirt as he walked up to the older man who looked so much like Naruto. He was extremely attractive. Though his eyes were also blue, they were nowhere near as intense and bright as Naruto's, but if this is how Naruto was going to look when he got older, Sasuke definitely had no complaints.

"Hello," Sasuke said. "I hope I'm not intruding."

"Of course not," he said, holding out his hand. "Sasuke, it's nice to meet you, I'm Minato. Naruto's mentioned you several times this past week. I should thank you for making the first week an easy transition for him. Except that one incident." He gave Naruto a disappointed look.

"That wasn't entirely Naruto's fault," said Sasuke as he shook Minato's hand.

"Still, we try not to resort to violence to solve our problems in this family. Naruto's developed quite a temper lately, so I think his emotions get the best of him sometimes."

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Naruto muttered.

"Well, considering you had similar problems at your old school before we left, I thought you might've wanted to start with a clean slate."

"Seriously?" Naruto snapped. "You're gonna bring this up now?"

"Naruto," Sasuke said softly.

"Whatever. I'm gonna use the bathroom." He brushed past his father, went into the bathroom, and slammed the door.

Sasuke was left with Minato, who sighed as he scratched the back of his head.

"I have to apologize for my son," he told Sasuke. "We're still going through an adjustment period, I guess. I hope he hasn't been too much of a bother. It seems everything I say to him is wrong these days."

"He hasn't been a bother," Sasuke said. "My parents enjoyed having him over. He's welcome anytime."

"Is that so? Well, that's good to hear." Minato smiled at him, but he looked tired and a little sad. "Can I get you anything to drink? Will you be staying for dinner?"

"I'm not staying too long. My brother's home for spring break, but he's leaving early tomorrow."

"I see. Do you not get to see him very often then?"

"Not especially," Sasuke answered, running a hand through his hair. "He goes to Stanford, so it's a long drive. I visit him occasionally."

"Stanford, hm?" Minato nodded. "He must be very intelligent. Naruto tells me you're student council president?"

"Yes, but it's not especially difficult or time-consuming."

"I wish Naruto was that ambitious. I knew your principal in my younger days. We were lucky he accepted Naruto into the school and even offered him that baseball scholarship."

"Naruto seems excited to start playing," he commented.

"I think he needs something to distract him. It's been... a tough few months to say the least."

"I'm sure. I was very sorry to hear about Naruto's mom."

Minato gave him another one of those anxious smiles. "It's tough. I feel like there are things that only a mother can do when it comes to her son. Especially at this age."

By then, Naruto returned to the room, not looking any happier. With a scowl, he sat heavily on the foot of the bed, almost like a kid about to throw a tantrum.

"Are you goin' into the office today?" Naruto asked (and in Sasuke's opinion, he was especially snotty about it).

"I might have to go in for an hour or two, but I'll be back in time to make dinner."

"Y'don't have to. I'm used to makin' dinner by myself now."

Sasuke, to put it bluntly, was disappointed by Naruto's behavior, and had his father not been there, he would've let him know it. He understood Naruto was angry, but couldn't he see that his father was unhappy, too?

"Sasuke, it was nice to meet you. Thanks again for all you've done. If you'd like anything to drink, I bought some bottled water and Coke at the store."

"Okay, thank you very much," Sasuke said. "It was nice to meet you, too."

"Naruto, I'll be back in an hour or two."

"Cool," was all he said.

Sasuke waited until he heard Naruto's father leave the apartment before shutting the door.

"I'm disappointed," he said.

"No kiddin'," Naruto complained. "It's annoying how he's always naggin' me about shit. He didn't even ask me how my weekend was or if I had fun. He jumps straight into the shit about school and how I'm such a troublemaker and how I was a troublemaker back at home. It's, like, give me a fuckin' break."

"You're one to talk," Sasuke replied.

He walked to the bed, stood in front of Naruto, and when the boy looked up, Sasuke smacked him upside the head.

"Ow, what the hell was that for?" Naruto cried.

"I've never seen you act like such a child. So you're unhappy? So you're angry? Do you really think the best thing to do is to take it out on your father?"

"I'm sorry," Naruto glared. "Would you rather me repress my feelings in order to make him happy like you do with your dad?"

Instead of punching him in the face like he deserved, Sasuke grabbed him by the collar and pulled him to his feet.

"I just think it's shit that you've lost your mom and this is how you treat your remaining parent," Sasuke said angrily. "You lost your mother, but he's lost hiswife. It's the first time I'm meeting him, and even I can tell he's hurting, but you only give him a hard time."

"You're pushing it," Naruto warned. "I told you not to talk about my mother so easily. What do you know, huh? You have both of your parents and your brother, and you all live happily together, and you're resigned to keep your one big secret to yourself because you're afraid your dad will reject you. And you're giving me advice on how I should handle my family?"

"It didn't stop you from trying to push your views on me the entire weekend. You always want people to do what you think is right for them, but you're such a hypocrite. Honestly, I'm surprised, and I'm very embarrassed for you because anyone else would have sympathy for your dad considering he just lost the woman that he loved."

"Fuck off, Sasuke," Naruto spat, pushing him away. "The situation is totally different, and you'll never understand what it feels like to lose a parent when you're young. It feels like a fuckin' hole's been punched in my chest, and it's never, ever gonna heal. I think about her every second of every day, and I have to live knowin' that she's not gonna be around for all the important events in my life, and the one person I have left just works himself to death 'cause he doesn't wanna deal with the fact that my mom is dead and he has a fuck up like me for a son!"

Sasuke, looking at him, could tell Naruto was hurt, that he was angry and confused and sad, and... he had every right to be. Plus, he wasn't wrong about Sasuke being unable to understand. He had both his parents. He had Itachi.

Naruto sniffled and wiped at his eye. "Asshole. Comin' to my house and makin' me feel bad." He collapsed on top of the bed again, throwing an arm over his eyes.

"Naruto..." Sighing, Sasuke sat next to him on the foot of the bed. "I just think that if I ever lost my parents, and all I had left was Itachi, I would beat the shit out of anyone who tried to hurt him."

"I'm not sayin' I wouldn't hurt anyone who messed with my dad, but it's shit from before you don't know about. How mom died, and... it's hard not to blame him for a lot of stuff. And, yeah, maybe it's 'cause he's the only one left, and even if I dohave times when I'm mad at mom for dyin', it's not like I can go yell at her about it, can I?"

"No," he said. "I suppose it's easier to take that anger out on your father."

"It's not like I wanna be this way. Of course I know it's fucked up that I get on your case about that shit when I have my own problems with Dad, but... I'm not ready to forgive him yet. If that's even what's the problem. I dunno. Fuck."

Sasuke lay beside him on the bed. "You know, Naruto. When you get pissed off about this stuff, I don't mind if you talk to me about it. Your dad may not be able to beat you up when you act like an asshat, but I'm sure as hell not afraid to give you a punch in the face, just like I know you're not afraid to do the same to me."

"Heh. And, did you just call me an asshat?" Naruto, turning his head, started biting at his lip. There was a lingering tear caught in his eyelashes, so Sasuke reached over to catch it between his fingertips.

"I hope that despite what's gone on between us this weekend, you'll realize..." He cleared his throat, "I do consider us friends. You can talk to me about anything you want."

"Oh God, I must be really bad if even you wanna play therapist."

Sasuke glared. "I'm trying to help. Sorry if I'm awkward at it since I'm not used to having friends that I genuinely care about."

Naruto's eyes widened.

"What?" Sasuke barked.

Naruto shook his head. "Nothin'. Now I'm really glad I gave you that handjob."

Sasuke shook his head. "You're such a fucking idiot."

"Yeah, sucks for you. Remember that time that you were all 'Hey Naruto, I'm gonna give you a blowjob when you get back' and then you fell asleep on me?"

"I would never do such a thing. I'm far too cool to do something like that."

"Uh huh."

Sasuke grabbed for his hand, holding it between them on the bed.

"So what do you want to do now?" He asked.

"What time do you have to be back?"

Sasuke checked his watch. "I can hang out for a while. It's only 2."

"Good." Naruto smiled at him.

"You know, there's a Starbuck's around the corner from here. How about I buy you something, we'll come back here for a while, and then I'll take off?"

"I'm kinda hungry, maybe we can get a sandwich, too?"

"Sure," said Sasuke.

"I really like this deli that's only a couple blocks away. They have really good pickles."

"Sounds fine to me. You get up first, though. I'm too comfortable to move."

"But I'm comfortable, too." Naruto lifted their joined hands and started prodding him.

"Maybe we should stay here and lay in bed together."

"Maybe we should, but you promised me Starbuck's and a sandwich."

"Did I promise the sandwich, too?" Sasuke asked, smiling at him.

"It can be like a date," said Naruto. "For metaphorically knockin' some sense into me."

"Metaphorically or figuratively?"

"Stop bein' a nerd for a second and accept that I'm tryin' to thank you."

"Alright." He sat up, gazing down at Naruto. "Let's go then."

Naruto sat up next to him, grinning sheepishly. He looked uncharacteristically shy, and as his face grew red, he abruptly leaned over and kissed Sasuke on the cheek.

Sasuke blinked at him afterward. "That was...?"

"It was nothin'." Naruto got to his feet and stretched, shirt riding up again.

"Cocktease," Sasuke muttered and pulled it down again for him.

Naruto winked. "You know you like it, Uchiha."

Sasuke also stood, and with Naruto looking at him like that, he couldn't help but plant a chaste kiss on his lips before leading the way out of the bedroom.

As he opened the door, Naruto called after him, "Dammit, Sasuke. If you're gonna be gay with me, at least use a little more tongue!"

Starbuck's was annoyingly crowded, even for a Sunday afternoon. There weren't any open tables that he could see, and it's not as if someone with extra chairs was going to ask if they'd like to share. He wasn't particularly fond of coffee, so he picked out some overpriced fruit drink. Naruto, who took longer than him to decide, asked for a Java Chip frappucino. True to his word, Sasuke paid for the both of them, and since there was nowhere to sit, they opted to go to the deli to get Naruto's sandwich and, afterward, eat at one of the nearby parks.

At the deli, there was a Ukrainian man with a thick accent who knew Naruto by the sandwich he always ordered. While Naruto picked one that was filled with meat, Sasuke found the one veggie option.

"Ah, give him a pickle," Naruto said to the man. "I told him they were really good here."

"Our pickle is very good, young man," he said to Sasuke. "Very good."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, but he accepted the pickle, nonetheless. It definitely had a strong garlic-aroma.

The man, while scratching his beard, took Sasuke's cash and stuck all their food in a paper bag.

"I see you next week," the man said to Naruto. "You bring your father."

"Sure thing," Naruto said and, taking hold of the bag, led the way out. "Hey, if you don't want your pickle, I'll be happy to eat it."

"I don't think so," he replied. "My pickle is very good, Naruto. Very good."

"Hey, that's racist!" Naruto laughed. "Plus, you sound Italian."

"I do not." He felt oddly offended about that.

"Hm." Naruto, who'd nearly sucked down all of his frappucino already, tossed it into the next trash can they passed. "So, shall we go eat in the park?"

"We shall." Sasuke nodded. "Just so we're clear, if you're going to eat that entire pickle, there will be no kissing. It wreaks of garlic."

"But if you have some, too, you won't even notice. Besides, didn't your veggie thing come with onions?"

"Nope."

"Oh. Well. I guess there will be no makin' out in the park then. Or, I guess I can save it for later, huh?"

Sasuke grinned at him. "Whatever you want, Naruto."

They walked to the closest park, which was only a playground with a few benches and a couple of picnic tables. They decided on a bench underneath one of the larger trees. There were several kids playing on the equipment, squealing and making all kinds of noises.

"Kids are cute, huh?" Naruto asked as he took his first large bit of his corn beef sandwich.

"It's debatable," Sasuke replied, starting in on his own.

"I bet you were a cute kid." Naruto smiled at him. "I bet you were adorable."

"I'm sure I was as annoying as any other child."

"What are you gonna do when your gay boyfriend wants to have kids?"

"Considering I'm in high school, I would think it'd be odd for my gay boyfriend to want to have children."

"Well, you do have a thing for older men," Naruto said, nudging him in the side with an elbow.

"That older man can go have kids with his girlfriend then." Irritated, Sasuke picked up his juice from earlier and took a sip, watching a woman in her late 20's pushing a stroller across the sidewalk.

"I'd like to have kids some day." Naruto, looking thoughtful. "Obviously not now, 'cause that would sorta suck, but one day. Far in the future."

"You can't even clean your room without being told, and you're already considering being a father?"

"In the future, I said." Naruto scowled. "I'd be a good dad, so shut your pie hole, Sasuke."

Sasuke sniggered. "What is a pie hole anyway? Who came up with that expression?"

"No idea." Naruto wiped his hand across his mouth. "Is it like a donut hole, but with a pie?"

"Maybe it's like that game at carnivals, where you stick your face in a hole, and someone throws a pie at you," he suggested. "And when you're done for the day and don't want to be hit with pies anymore, you shut your pie hole."

Naruto stopped eating and stared at him for a long time.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"I can't decide if that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard or the most brilliant," Naruto told him.

"It does sound stupid, but perhaps your idiocy is contagious."

"Idiocy isn't contagious," Naruto said. "You know what's contagious?"

"AIDS?" Sasuke suggested.

Naruto laughed. "That's terrible."

"You're terrible for laughing at it."

"Reminds me of somethin' your brother said to me today."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "My brother said something to you about AIDS today?"

"No, shut up. Well, I guess technically. I mean, he did mention stuff about condoms, but I could tell he was messin' with me. Although, I do think a part of him was serious. Maybe he thought we were gonna start goin' at it like rabbits."

"What is it with you and all these metaphors today?" Sasuke asked.

"I dunno. They make it easier to explain stuff, right?"

"In simple ways, yes," he agreed. "Now I see why you use them."

"How did we even get started talkin' about this?"

"I forget."

"Do you think you might play anywhere this week?"

"Play?" He asked, even though he knew what Naruto meant.

"Yeah, music. I wanna go if you do."

"I wasn't planning on it, but the next time I do, I'll try to remember to tell you about it."

"Lame. You're totally not gonna tell me. Would it be weird if I came and watched?"

"I'm sorry, you lost me after you said 'I came'."

"But I also watched, too." Naruto grinned. "Don't talk about that stuff, you'll make me horny."

"If this is reverse psychology, it sounds like a win-win for me."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You never miss an opportunity to hit on me, do you?"

Finishing his sandwich, Sasuke rolled the paper it came with into a ball and put it in the paper bag. "Please. If I was actually hitting on you, you would start panting all over the place like you usually do."

"What?" Naruto squawked. "I do not pant everywhere. I don't wanna hear this from a guy who can't last longer than three minutes."

"I was saving it up." He grinned.

Naruto burst into laughter. "Oh, Sasuke."

"Oh, Naruto," he replied facetiously. "Are you finished with your sandwich yet? Did you enjoy all your meat?"

"Yeah, I did," Naruto answered, mouth full. "I do love havin' a thick slab of meat in my mouth. Just can't help myself."

"That makes two of us."

Naruto started choking; Sasuke chuckled and slapped him hard on the back.

"Don't say that to a guy when he's eatin'," Naruto complained. "I thought I was gonna die."

"I would've saved you. I know what to do."

"Yeah, right. You're just lookin' for an excuse to get behind me and thrust."

"That's not... exactly how the Heimlich maneuver works, I don't think."

"That's how your version of it works."

"Would you like it better if I did it from the front? I think it would be much less effective just to warn you."

"Wait, are we talkin' about sex now or are we still on the chokin' thing?"

"Clueless." Sasuke shook his head. "Come on. I only have a little while longer before I should head back home."

"Fine. M'done anyway. You take the pickle." He handed Sasuke the plastic bag that contained one giant-sized pickle. "Now, make sure to take it home and eat it. Don't try to do anything weird with it."

"Weird, like what?" He asked and then realized his mistake.

"Like stick it up your butt," Naruto said and spent the next minute cracking up at his own idiotic joke.

"That wasn't even funny," Sasuke remarked as he threw their remaining trash into one of the metal bins.

"So, are gay jokes off limits then?" Naruto asked as they left the park and walked along the sidewalk together.

"Well, I think they're open to you considering you've had your own homoerotic adventures lately."

"Ah, true. So I get a temporary pass?"

"Sure. I'll make you one and slather it in glitter."

"Heh. You're hilarious." He knocked into Sasuke's shoulder and folded his arms behind his head. "It's cool that we can joke about it though, right?"

Sasuke looked at him. "I think it's okay. It's good to be able to laugh at yourself, especially when there are other aspects of it that can get... a little too serious."

"Mm." Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I mean there's no point in angstin' about stuff all the time, eh? You with your gayness and me with my dad."

"Yes," he said dryly. "Me with my gayness."

Naruto bumped into him again. "So, what are we gonna do once we get back to my apartment?"

"Are there options?" Sasuke smirked.

"I have an idea of some stuff we could do."

"So long as it doesn't involve you giving me AIDS."

"Feline AIDS or regular AIDS?" Naruto asked. "I can pretty much guarantee I'm negative for at least one of them."

Sasuke actually laughed. "We are definitely going to hell for this conversation."

"Ah, well," said Naruto. "I suppose I'd at least be in good company then."

Back in the apartment, Sasuke put the precious pickle inside the refrigerator.

"Don't forget to take that home with you," Naruto said.

"You are really obsessed with those pickles, aren't you?" He closed the fridge door.

Naruto was sitting on the couch, with his bare foot on the coffee table. Sasuke must've been staring at it.

"Does it bother you that I have my foot on my own table?" Naruto asked.

"I don't care," he replied, shoving his hands in his pockets and walking over. "It's your home, do what you want."

"So I could put both feet up here, and you wouldn't smack me for it?" He was smiling like such a brat while Sasuke collapsed on the couch next to him. He put his feet up, too. "Ah, see," said Naruto. "I am rubbin' off on you."

"So when is your dad coming back?" He asked.

"Why? Wanna fool around?"

Sasuke glared out of the corner of his eye. "It's very cruel to tease a gay man, Naruto."

"Who said I was teasin'?" He lay his head on the back of the couch, and it was rather difficult to read his expression.

"Don't you already feel like you've put in your time? You gave me a handjob, after all."

"It's not like I think of you as a charity case. I mean, it was enjoyable to have you all under me and reactin' that way, and then at the end when you - "

Sasuke covered the other boy's mouth. "I was there. I know what happened."

Naruto nipped at one of his fingers, so he moved his hand.

"I think your problem, Sasuke, is that you're so uptight. Don't you feel like you can relax around me yet?"

"No," he said and lifted his gaze to the ceiling as he leaned his head back, too. "In fact, I think I feel the opposite sometimes."

"Maybe 'cause of all of the sexual tension. The best way to relieve it would be to, y'know, relieve it."

Sasuke turned his head to look at him. "So I'll relieve it when I go home tonight."

"Alright." Naruto shrugged. "It's not like I'm gonna force you to do stuff."

"You just like it when I start ordering you around and telling you what to do."

Naruto smiled. "Tch. You wish."

"You're smiling, so it must be true."

"It's 'cause I like when you talk as if you know everything. Sometimes I even believe you when you use that tone."

"Tone? I don't know what you mean."

"Like when you're psychoanalyzin' me or whatever. You do it all the time, and then suddenly your tone changes and you say it in this way that it must be an absolute truth. Although, often times you might kinda be on to somethin'."

Sasuke stared. "Now I think it's you who's overthinking things. If that's the way you want to play. I'll tell you to do something, that way if I'm the one initiating it, I suppose you don't have to feel held accountable for what happens between us."

"I dunno what you just said, but I think I'm insulted. I'm not a masochist and I'm not afraid to do anything with you, but every time I've tried to bring up the idea, you shoot me down, so, for me, that means you aren't interested and are just tryin' to be polite or something, which doesn't sound right either because you're a bastard. You can't still be hung up on me regrettin' things because I'm the one who gave you a handjob, and I'm fine with it. In fact, I'd do it again."

"Come here then," he said.

"Come where?" Naruto grinned.

"That is the question, isn't it? My lap. Get over here."

"Bossy," Naruto said, but, picking his feet off of the table, he stood up in front of Sasuke. Naruto, with a slap, pushed Sasuke's legs closer together, and then put one knee on the couch cushion. "You sure? What if my dad walks in. I'm less likely to jump off like a scared rabbit if he shows up."

Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke snatched his wrist and forcefully pulled him all the way onto the couch so that Naruto fell forward, catching himself on the back of the sofa. His shaggy blond hair fell across his eyes and his mouth hovered above Sasuke's.

"Asshole," he muttered as he settled down onto Sasuke's lap. "Happy now?"

Ignoring his tone, Sasuke placed one hand on his hip and snuck the other under Naruto's shirt. He had to admit, any opportunity he was given to touch Naruto's body felt extremely thrilling. Sasuke kept himself in good shape, but because Naruto was muscular and tan and had this sort of sexual charisma about him, it was very difficult not to want to treat him like a favorite unwrapped present on Christmas Day. He pushed the shirt up even further and leaned in to take the left nipple into his mouth. While he sucked it, he closed his eyes and let a hand travel down to the inner part of Naruto's thigh where he started to rub him.

"That was fast," Naruto muttered. "I dunno why you put up such a fight 'cause then once you get started - "

Sasuke bit him, causing his sentence to be left unfinished. He moved quickly on to the other nipple, sucking it, licking, and biting it. When he stopped to place a hand at the back of Naruto's neck and pull him in - it made the kiss that followed all the more explosive. Naruto opened his mouth to him, excitedly touching his tongue to Sasuke's, sliding it under and over. He moved his hand to Naruto's butt, dragging him forward on his lap. With another hands on Naruto's thigh, he let him be the one to control the kiss as he held Sasuke's face in his hands.

In between kisses, Sasuke happened to mumble, "Seems like you wanted to do this even more than me."

"Shut up," Naruto growled, biting at his bottom lip. "I told you I didn't get off last night, so excuse me if I'm feelin' a bit - "

Sasuke placed a hand to his chest pushing him back. Naruto gazed at him questioningly.

"It's nothing," he said. "I just wanted to see if you would say it while I'm looking at you."

"What? That I'm kinda horny 'cause I got to watch you get off last night, and 'cause we woke up in bed together, and we've been makin' out and talkin' about sex nearly the entire day?"

"I guess you really do have balls," Sasuke said, smirking. "Must be why I like you."

Naruto shook his head. "Don't make me laugh when I'm tryin' to seriously sex you up here."

"Oh, it's me that you're sexing up?"

"Okay, here's what I think." Naruto quickly got off of him and held out a hand.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Take it. We're goin' to my bedroom. Let me take a quick shower first. Gimme five minutes."

Sasuke took his hand, but, with an eyebrow raised, didn't move from the couch. "We're not going to - "

"No, we're not havin' sex, but we'll try somethin' else. I feel sweaty, though, and since I'm a nice guy, I thought I'd try to be all squeaky clean for when I let you suck my cock. So are you coming or not?"

Sasuke blinked several times. He almost completely thought his brain had imagined those words coming out of Naruto's mouth.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't think I heard you correctly."

Naruto rolled his eyes and gave him a hard tug that brought Sasuke to his feet.

"Do you," Naruto said to him like he was an idiot, "Want to suck me off? You mentioned you wanted practice, so I thought we'd give it a go if you're up for it."

Even though his brain was on the verge of rushing through all the reasons this could be a bad idea, he told it to shut the fuck up.

"I see you're not gonna give any excuses," Naruto commented. "Alright then. I bet we have at least 45 minutes. While I may not be as quick as you, I'm definitely not gonna last that long."

"But... what if you don't like it?" Sasuke asked, wanting them to at least acknowledge the possibility. "What if - "

"I have a feelin' that won't be an issue, but if it doesn't work out, it's nothin' against you, Sasuke. Not that it helps to hear you have doubts before we even get started."

"Sorry," he said. "But if we're going to do this, I do want you to enjoy it and not be something you're suffering through on my behalf."

"I don't believe in regrets, so we're cool. Now c'mon. If you really need to, you can go watch some gay porn for some tips before I come back." Naruto towed him along toward the bedroom.

"I think I've watched enough gay porn to have a general idea of what works."

"I bet you have," replied Naruto. "How did that guy not have you suck him off at all?"

As they made their way into the bedroom, Naruto took off his shirt and threw it in a corner.

"Well," Sasuke said as he sat down on the bed. "I think my mouth was on there for maybe a few minutes before we moved on to other stuff."

"Maybe he thought you were bad at it," Naruto offered, glancing over his shoulder at him as he rummaged through his closet.

"Thanks. That's very reassuring. Asshole."

"Aw, don't be that way. It's sex, not rocket science. Most of it is all instinct and communication and enthusiasm. I'm gonna tell you what I like. I mean, we sort of have time restrictions, but yeah, okay, I'll lock the door. Still, though. I don't want you to feel rushed. The point is to make it last, so we can go as slow as you need to. Or... want to."

"Come here," Sasuke said, beckoning him over.

With a smirk, Naruto swaggered over to him. "Yes, master?"

Again, Sasuke touched the teen's flat stomach and pressed his lips to it, mouthing one or two of the abdominal muscles. He took hold of the button fastening for his jeans and unsnapped it easily. He placed another kiss to Naruto's stomach as he tugged at the zipper.

Realizing something, he lifted his head and looked at Naruto questioningly. "You're... not wearing underwear."

"You're just now noticing this? I gave yours back, remember?"

"This entire time you've been walking around with me wearing... no underwear."

"You really couldn't tell by looking?"

"My eyes aren't always trained on your crotch, Naruto."

He grinned. "You sure about that?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't know why it matters."

"Hm. Probably 'cause you woulda jumped me earlier."

"Probably," he admitted.

"You're gonna see it anyway. Why don't you finish what you've started?"

Sasuke stood up, pushing the other boy backward as he did. "Would you go this far for everybody? Acting like it's no big deal whether you fool around with another boy or not?"

He pushed Naruto all the way to the wall, where his back collided with a hard thud. Sasuke started sucking at Naruto's neck as he scraped his fingertips from his chest to his stomach to the tanned skin showing just above the waistband of his jeans. He unzipped them the rest of the way while biting Naruto's shoulder. Teasingly, he brushed his fingers across Naruto's pubic bone first before taking hold of his pants and pulling them lower - not all the way, but to about mid thigh. He didn't immediately leer, but he did set his forehead against Naruto's shoulder as he reached inside his jeans to touch him for the first time.

Naruto let out a quiet gasp next to his ear, which caught his attention and caused him to lift his head in order to look at him. Sasuke eyed his lips as he, very slowly, started to stroke his shaft. The instant the other boy's mouth parted, he attacked it, speeding up his hand at the same time. Truthfully, handjobs were no big thing to him. He knew exactly what to do, but what he hadn't expected in all of this was... being able to finally touch Naruto... it felt like he was under a spell and wouldn't be able to stop. In fact, he already wanted to drop to his knees and take him into his mouth. He could smell Naruto's sweat and musk, and, if anything, it was intoxicating. Fuck this teaching bullshit, he already knew what he wanted to do, and he didn't want to prolong it. What he wanted was something rough, short, and dirty that ended with Naruto cumming into his mouth.

"No shower," he muttered between kisses, and Naruto didn't argue.

He yanked Naruto's pants down the rest of the way, bypassing his cock briefly to help him kick them off. Sasuke threw them in the corner and - taking a moment to appreciate what he would finally be able to do - hungrily admired the full view of a very naked Naruto standing in front of him. First, he kissed his thighs, from the inner part of his knee, all the way up, sliding his tongue along the corded muscle until he was faced with what had been the object of his imagination on several occasions. It wasn't about comparing Naruto's to his own because what would be the point? It was great because it was Naruto's. They were both cut. Still, the little differences... his was slightly thicker than Sasuke's, and it curved differently. The base of his penis was covered in a small patch of very fair golden pubic hair. Actually, there were several variations of blond - some dark, some light.

"Is my cock really so interesting?" Naruto asked.

"It is to me," he said, and getting comfortable on his knees, took hold of the shaft and started to pump him. "It's even better than I expected."

"Yeah?" Naruto smiled crookedly. "So you have thought about it."

"More than you probably even realize," he said and pressed more kisses to the lower part of Naruto's stomach.

"I thought you might be more shy about this for some reason. Obviously I was wrong." Naruto let out a grunt as Sasuke's thumb slid from the tip to the part where the head joined the underside of his shaft. "Jesus."

"You act like I have no experience," he said, licking and kissing back down Naruto's thigh. "I know exactly what I want to do to you."

Naruto's head fell against the wall as Sasuke took him into his mouth for the first time. He licked around the sides and underneath, wetting Naruto's length and using his hand to try and spread his spit. If he was smart, he would've asked where he hid the lotion, but the last thing he wanted to do was remove his mouth from this particular cock. Holding firmly onto Naruto's hip, he kept him pushed against the wall. Every once in a while, he flicked his gaze up to Naruto's face. More often than not, Naruto's eyes were shut. Patches of his skin were blotchy as sweat began to break out. It was clear that he was enjoying himself because in the time he'd undone his jeans to this point now, Naruto was at least half hard. He also occasionally let out a curse, but it was the groans and moans that Sasuke really wanted to hear.

He knew what he liked, which was alternating sensations - mouth, hand, lips, whatever, and then keeping a steady rhythm going throughout. He knew what to expect when Naruto was ready to be pushed over the edge, too. Letting Naruto fall from his lips, he continued to hold him in his hand while mouthing and kissing the head. Some of his pre-cum leaked out, covering his lips as he lapped it up enthusiastically. Honestly, he thought he could get off from giving a blowjob because his eyes were already more hooded than even Naruto's.

Naruto was intently observing what he was doing now, which made it all the more thrilling - so that when he pushed Sasuke's bangs off of his forehead and just watched, Sasuke was the one who groaned around him.

"Holy shit this is so much hotter than I expected," Naruto panted.

Sasuke would've smirked but he was trying to get more of him into his mouth. Deep throating was entirely out of the question and a talent he'd leave for the porn stars for now, but he did try for half way. Maybe if they moved to the bed they could do more. Slipping Naruto out of his mouth, he grabbed for his wrist instead.

"Bed," he commanded hoarsely and practically threw Naruto on top of it.

Sasuke pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it with all their other clothes. Naruto sat up, reaching for his belt, and as he rose to his knees, they started kissing. Sasuke would've tasted like him, so he wondered if that turned Naruto on or off? He must not have minded considering he kept sticking his tongue down Sasuke's throat, which only incited him further. Sasuke shoved him, and Naruto fell back again onto the comforter, his head landing on the pillow.

"You're such a fuckin' liar," Naruto said. "There's no way you're a beginner at this. Now I'm jealous. Why would you tell me you've only been with one guy?"

Sasuke lay on top of him, their bare chests touching. He wanted for them both to be naked, and, yes, it was difficult not to want to rip his clothes off, but it was there in the back of his head that Naruto said several times sex was not what he wanted.

"Jealous?" He repeated as he undid his buckle and tossed the belt on the side of the bed so that it wouldn't rub up on Naruto and hurt him. "Don't even act as if something like that would make you jealous." He ran his hands all over Naruto's body, absolutely anywhere he could reach, and wherever his fingers touched, his mouth did, too.

Every little noise or whimper Naruto made drove him close to something like insanity. Maybe he'd been holding it in too long when it came to Naruto, or maybe it was because he hadn't even had physical contact with anyone for more than half a year, but he just wanted to devour him and bring him off. He slid his way back down Naruto's body, touching his thighs or teasingly brushing his hand against the side of his erection until he was able to take hold of it again and get it into his mouth. Now that Naruto was hard, it was much more difficult getting his lips fully around him, even half way.

"God, Sasuke, if you'd told me it would feel this good with a guy, we could've tried this a lot sooner."

Gripping the base of his shaft, he removed his mouth and nipped at Naruto's thigh. "If I would've known seeing you naked like this would be so fucking hot, I think I wouldn't have overthought things so much."

"No, shit."

While stroking and pumping, he paid some attention to Naruto's balls, licking and sucking on them. He was, however, mindful of going too close to Naruto's ass in case it would suddenly turn him off. If they hadn't talked about it beforehand, then he wasn't even going to attempt it. Plus, it would only get him thinking about all the things he'd like to do to Naruto's ass. As he thought about all that, he licked more, he sucked more, and the next time he had his mouth on Naruto, the other boy put a hand at the back of his head, encouraging him to go deeper and suck faster. Sasuke sensed that Naruto wasn't far off, especially when the pushing of his head turned into pulling at his hair. He pressed his hand flat to Naruto's stomach as the boy's legs started to bend more at the knees and lift. Sasuke moved with him, never letting his cock leave his mouth. He got on his knees, reached for a nipple to pinch, and heard Naruto softly groan his name. Sasuke looked up at Naruto's face, eyes halfway shut and body burning with desire for him to come.

"I'm really close," Naruto mumbled, obviously trying to warn him but not all that interested in pushing him off either.

Like hell he wasn't going to swallow while sucking him off for the first time. If anything, it's what he'd been waiting for.

He mouthed the head a few more times, which by now was slippery and sticky. He could feel and taste it all over his lips so that every time he openly kissed close to the tip, it sounded loud and wet. When Naruto's body felt like it was tightening underneath him, Sasuke let him fuck his mouth as he pleased until, with one last moan and short shout of his name, Naruto came. The quickness of it almost startled him, but he closed his eyes and swallowed all of it as Naruto pumped his hips and pushed at his head.

Afterward, Naruto, went still beneath him. Sasuke mouthed him a few more times before he moved to kiss, lick, and pay devotion to the tip and head. He hadn't felt like this during his first sexual experience. Because it was Naruto... he just felt like he wanted this person entirely. Wanted to get him off and make him feel good and he didn't even care a whole lot about his own pleasure. Not that he hadn't received any considering he was actually incredibly hard and should not have worn such tight jeans today. On his way up Naruto's body, he even rubbed against the boy's thigh, which forced him to stop and pause. Sliding the rest of the way up, he was met by Naruto's mouth. His hips rocked into Sasuke's and his hands went all over his back and then into his hair. They kissed for a few minutes until Naruto pushed him up and asked him to get on his back. Reluctantly, he got off of him and, like Naruto wanted, flipped onto his back. Naruto got onto all fours above him.

Naruto smirked. "Feel better now?"

Sasuke only stared at his lips as they moved. "You're hot."

Naruto laughed as he started inching toward the foot of the bed and, with his eyes on Sasuke, he dragged his tongue along the outline of his erection. Sasuke's eyes nearly rolled back into his head, but he sat up, grabbed hold of Naruto's arm, and pulled him on top of his body.

"Don't worry about it," he said into Naruto's ear. "This is already enough."

"Why would I leave you like that?" Naruto asked, trying to get up again, but Sasuke kept him down by tightly holding him in his arms.

"I have to go soon anyway."

"Yeah, and you only take three minutes, plus you're that hard, so I'm guessin' 30 seconds at best."

Sasuke shushed him. "I said not to worry about it. That's enough to fulfill my masturbatory fantasies for at least the next few months."

The other boy chuckled and lay a kiss on Sasuke's throat. "You smell like my cum," he said.

Sasuke stared at him. "I don't know why. Just because it's in my mouth and on my hands and in between my fingers and under my fingernails and probably on my stomach, too."

"Makes you sound like a slut."

"Cockslut maybe. I didn't know I was one until now."

"Cockslut? Is that a thing?" Naruto shuffled over to the side and rolled onto his back. He gazed down at his own slowly softening penis, picked it up, and stroked it experimentally.

"Did I break it?" Sasuke asked him. He fought the desire to slap Naruto's hand away, grab it, and say "Mine!"

"I'm not used to comin' that fast and that hard. You were makin' so much damn noise and so into it, I got excited, too."

"You said it was about enthusiasm."

"And you were very fuckin' enthusiastic. No doubt about it, you are definitely very gay. Here I had it in my head, I'd have to be all gentle and patient and teach you what I liked and you'd be all coy and bashful about it, but Jesus. I dunno why I ever thought that since you attack everything else the same way."

"Hn. What can I say? I love cock."

"At least now I know what to get you for your birthday," said Naruto.

"Oh?" He asked. "I hope it includes your ass and my cock going in it."

"Holy shit, I was gonna say a dildo, you bastard!"

"Okay, how about a dildo shaped like your cock, and then I'll use it on special occasions."

"Use it?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

"You'd use a dildo in the shape of my cock?"

"Maybe get me two," Sasuke said, smirking at him.

"Two?" Naruto asked incredulously. "How would that even be realistic?"

"I thought one for my ass and one for my mouth - "

Naruto held his hand up. "That's... not what I meant. I mean there'd be no way for that to even realistically happen so why bother fantasizin' about it? God, now I'm imagining it!"

"Is that such a bad thing?" Sasuke asked seriously.

"No? Maybe. I dunno. It's confusing."

"It's not flattering that I'd fantasize about the possibility of somehow there being two of you where you could fuck me from behind while I suck off your other self?"

"What? Do you think I can make clones of myself or something?"

"If you could... I would definitely pursue you seriously."

"Wait." Naruto sat up. "My head is gonna explode."

Sasuke, sliding his hand down his own chest and resting it on his stomach, glanced up at him. "I'm kidding, Naruto. I know you don't want to have sex with guys."

"That's not...that's not what's... grah. But, too many things to think about. Plus you talkin' about me fuckin' you... it's..."

"Distracting?" Sasuke suggested.

"Yes," Naruto said. "Very distracting. I have a feelin' that if you really wanted to, you could easily seduce me into it with your powers."

"My powers?"

Naruto let out a heavy sigh. "I wonder if I have any shorts I can put on."

"Want me to look for you? I suppose your dad should be back any minute."

"Yeah, I dunno how I'd even explain me walkin' out like this as you leave."

Sasuke got up and went toward the dresser. "Top drawer?"

"I think, yeah."

Sasuke opened it, found a pair of checkered blue and white boxers, and tossed them to Naruto. "There you are."

Unrepentant, he watched as Naruto put them on, adjusting himself in the process. Sasuke went to get his own shirt and belt, too. He put his shirt on first and then worked on sliding the belt through the loops. Naruto got off of the bed, went behind him, and grabbed his hands.

"You missed a loop," Naruto said into his ear, sending the hair at the back of his neck straight up. "Let me do it."

He took it all the way out and slid it properly through all the loops this time.

"It's 'cause you're overly excited," Naruto said to him.

Sasuke turned around and kissed him, running his hands up and down Naruto's naked back and, because he couldn't help it, he put them on Naruto's butt and squeezed him against his body.

Naruto laughed into their next kiss, but Sasuke swallowed up the sound, pushing his tongue into Naruto's mouth until he responded with equal passion.

When they parted, Sasuke licked his lips, loving that he could still taste Naruto on them. "Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto cocked his head. "For what?"

"Everything," he said. "For this weekend... just... for everything."

Naruto nodded, though he looked embarrassed. "It was nothin'."

"Well, it was something to me. I'm not even talking about this or last night, but... really. Everything."

Naruto's smile became wide, and he scratched the back of his neck. "Okay, sure... not like I didn't get anything out of it either. I... had a good time. I'm glad we got to talk about stuff."

"Me, too."

"This is starting to sound like an awkward couple at the end of a date."

"Yeah, well. Isn't it kind of like that? Don't you think?" Sasuke asked him and bit anxiously at his lip, wondering if things would continue to be this way between them from now on.

"Maybe," Naruto agreed. "I just don't want anything to get weird. I wanna be honest with you and say that I don't want us to sit around and think 'well, what does this mean?'"

"I don't want us to do that either. I consider you a friend first. That's what's most important to me."

Naruto nodded. "But if you make out with anyone besides me over the next month, I don't wanna hear about it."

"Same." Sasuke smirked and reached out to cup Naruto's cheek. The touch was very brief, and then he let his hand fall away.

Naruto began biting his lip.

"What?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothin'." Naruto looked away. "Guess I got used to havin' you around."

"I'll call you tonight if there's time. If not, I'll see what you're up to tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Naruto whined. "That's far. What if the world ends tomorrow?"

"That's morbid," Sasuke said, eyebrow raised. "I have to say, if the world ends tomorrow, I'm glad we were able to squeeze that blowjob in."

"Heh. Me, too. I wonder if now, every time I jerk off, I'll be thinkin' about your mouth on my dick."

"I have no arguments or complaints about that."

"Of course you wouldn't since you're thinkin' about two me's givin' it to you at the same time."

"A boy can dream," he said, smiling.

"That he can," Naruto replied. "Goodbye kiss then." He pulled Sasuke to him by the shirt. "A real one, okay?"

Sasuke knew what he meant, so, when their mouths met, it was a slow kiss. Through it, he expressed his gratitude, his fondness, his respect, his friendship, and even the other secretive feelings he would have to keep locked up - at least for a while. Naruto did about the same, kissing him gently as he kept his hands firmly in place, just under his shoulder blades.

"Okay then," Naruto said when it ended.

"Okay then," said Sasuke. "I should... probably go."

"Yeah. You need to get back and hang out with Itachi."

"So, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"You said maybe tonight." Naruto frowned.

"We've been together for the last few days. Aren't you tired of me?"

"Like I said, I got used to havin' you around."

Sasuke reached into his back pocket for his keys. "We have plenty of time to hang out. I'll take you out this week."

"Like a date?" Naruto asked, smiling broadly even if he was teasing.

"I'd be happy to call it that if you'd like."

Naruto's expression changed to something that absolutely required one more lingering kiss.

"Goodbye, Naruto," he said afterward. "I'll show myself out."

He opened the bedroom door and gave Naruto one last look, feeling a strange sense of longing overcome him.

But.

It was time to go home, and they'd be seeing each other again soon enough.

"Bye, Sasuke," Naruto said, following him to the apartment door. "You're not gonna take your pickle?"

"I'll come and get it tomorrow," he said.

"Promise?"

"Naruto," he said.

"What?"

"You're a bit gay for me now, aren't you?"

"Kind of." Naruto grinned warmly at him. "But, y'know. High school romances and stuff."

"Right. I feel the same."

"Well, um. Get out of my apartment already then. It's cool. Go home and leave me all alone after you've gotten what you wanted."

"Shut up," Sasuke said, and closing the door again, he dragged Naruto into a hug and affectionately kissed the side of his head. "If you don't hear from me later, go to bed, and I'll call you in the morning."

"M'kay."

"Bye, Naruto." He opened the door, and not a single part of him truly wanted to leave, but it's not like they could stay together forever.

Closing the door behind him, Sasuke paused in the hallway while experiencing an odd case of déjà vu. For a second, he felt like something like this had happened at another time. Past lives? Is that what Naruto had said earlier? Sasuke didn't know if he believed in all that, but to consider the idea of Naruto being a person who would always show up in whatever universe they happened to exist in -

It wasn't a terrible idea. In fact, it was incredibly comforting in a way.

He also thought it was okay to hold out a little hope that something really could happen between them in the future. Because, so far, Naruto did feel like a person his heart and soul couldn't do without - even if it was going to take patience on his part before Naruto came to a similar realization.

The end.