Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: I'm baaack! To confirm, this is the SEQUEL to From under the Star filled Sky. Much of the character development and plot went on in that story, so don't complain if something really doesnt make sense, because you haven't read the first. That said, feel free to ask questions, i'll try my best to answer them. Now, i hope you like this one, where the REAL action begins. And the MPREG, which i know most of you wanted. Its a main theme throughout the story, so if you don't like that sort of thing, leave now. Oh, and same for Yaoi. I've tried to explain it properly without making it too squirmy, and just ignore the biology words if you want. I try to dive right into the plot, so read, and enjoy!

Warnings: Yaoi, sexual scenes, violence, swearing, Mpreg, boyxboy loving and smexing, and lots of other stuff that makes this rated M. If you dislike any of these please press the back button :P.

Gilded Dawn

The sun danced with an orange burning glow through the stuffy windows, fading slowly as it began to dip below the horizon. It caught floating dust in its beams, showing their little spiralling trails in the air.

There was a swish, and a blast of air sent them spinning, and a soft clank echoed in the apartment as a bowl was set down on the counter. Soft humming could be heard as a tap was turned on, the gushing of water nearly drowning out the lull of the television nearby.

Its screen was blaring bright colours, a ribbon of red scrolling across the bottom of the screen, as scenes flashed by one after another.

"...another thirteen people have been recovered, injured, from the wreckage of today's train bombings. While another five are still unaccounted for, leaving the death toll so far at a steady fourteen, with over fifty people undergoing treatment in hospital, when a train was derailed earlier today."

Images flashed in brightness that burned against the soft fading light of the room, ambulance crews helping limping, bloody figures from the wreckage, police cars, and a ruined series of carriages in a crumbling station, its contents spilled all over the tracks in a heap of dust and rubble.

"Investigations have confirmed the presence of explosives, and we are left to wonder once again the reasoning behind these terrorist attacks, which give neither warning nor reason. Police spokesmen today announced that the Shiburi incident seems to be completely unconnected to the others preceding it. There has been no sign, warning or message, and we, the public, are left to wonder in fear, of when these immoral terrorists will strike again."

The images changed once more, this time to those of a brightly lit studio, a blandly pretty woman with her equally bland voice neatening the papers on her faux desk.

"We now go to the scene...."

A huff and a sigh echoed in the apartment, and a hand ran through chocolate brown strands as equally brown eyes glanced towards the babbling television.

He walked over, and stared simply at the screen a few seconds before sighing and turning his head to stare out the far window, the sun in the middle of its disappearance for the night to come.

A forlorn sigh escaped him, and Iruka could only send out his thoughts to his faraway son.

'Naruto, I hope you're alright...'

Unheard to his ears, the television continued to flicker behind him.

A long way away, hidden deep in the thick forest of the sprawling countryside, which covered hills, mountains, lakes and rivers like a thick, sticky blanket, stood a ruined stone building.

Its heavy thick walls and compact shape made it appear to be almost a fortress, and despite its age, it appeared to have been recently renovated out of disrepair; new sturdy metal doors to replace rotten wooden ones, shiny hinges and the little snake-like wires that carried electricity which clung tightly to its sides.

It was cloistered away from the rest of the world by a turn in the mountain it was huddled within, where the high altitude gave the air a thick mist that would cling to the building long into the morning, and would settle by the earliest of evenings. There was only the most broken of dirt paths leading up to it, and in its remoteness, no one would ever think to look for it.

That's why it would have been perfect, if not for those that could literally sniff them out.

That particular night, nothing seemed much amiss, a passing glance would cause little to be alarmed.

Except for if one were to stop and listen so very closely. Then the vague sounds of a scuffle could be heard; unearthly noises muffled and twisted by the thick stones walls that were meant to keep the nightmares out, not in.

The noises became louder, accompanied by the hoarse shouts of men and the rending of metal, its screech cutting through both hard stone and night air with ease. Tiny bits of loose stone and mortar fell from the walls to daintily decorate the forest floor below as a rumble shook the building.

The shouts were closer then, as if the men were huddled right behind those steel doors, stark and shiny against the pale white stone, which still managed to cut out their voices. There was a short period of silence and then-

Another crash shook the very foundations, sending the tops of large stone blocks hurtling to the ground with fevered cracks. Part of the roof suddenly simply disappeared, leaving a gaping hole of fathomless black, before a short trail of smoke twirled out from its deep reaches; the lonely stream twisting with the cold mist that had formed during the night hours.

The gap would have allowed words to be distinguished from the gabble of voices, but by then, there were no words to be heard, only screaming, that pierced the shallow night air like knives.

The building began to rumble and shake once more, greater and greater as the unmistakeable scent of copper began to bloom up into the atmosphere, and with one last groan from the aged stone, the shiny new hinges finally bent, bursting the heavy steel door and sending it flying, huge, gnarled pieces of stone tumbling after it.

Without a moment to spare, a large, dark mass flew from the keep, and quick behind it another, it's shimmering golden coat burnished red by the roaring flames and embers that licked its heels, spilling out the gaping doorway like angry spirits.

The creature did not pause a moment, as the flames danced in the reflection of blood red eyes, and it flew right out into the night, through the trees and onwards, weaving through the trees like a ghost after its partner.

Neither shape looked back, or even showed a wince, as the old stone keep, now far behind, finally exploded into a flash of white fire and hurling rock.

None of its contents, including the dead, would ever be found.

The next morning, as dawn light gilded the cherry blossoms gold, a fox padded gently through the forest, the dappled light through the trees putting its golden fur in shadow. It twitched its black nose and continued to pick its way slowly through the mossy underbrush of the forest that stretched unbroken for miles. Far from anywhere, the only sounds were the early morning birds singing their chorus, which made crème tipped ears twitch and swivel, and the soft sound of crunching leaves under paw.

The fox wove through the thick trunked trees with ease, fleshy green leaves no hindrance as the canine made its way towards a slight clearing in the tree line. It was only small, a tiny copse, but the gnarled branches of the largest tree enclosing the space was distinctive enough to act as a landmark.

The fox paused right on the edge, letting its black nose sniff the air tentatively before deciding it was safe to enter, slinking its sinuous body into the sunlight.

The light made the golden fur shine brightly, illuminating the finest of long silky hairs from ear tip to tail end. A tail which, against all natural reason, seemed to shift and writhe all on its own in a plume of golden fur, making it almost appear at a corner glance to be more than one tail swishing peaceably.

The fox sniffed the air once more, and let out a slight whine from the back of its throat, and readily dropped its body to lay on the carpet of half dry leaves that gave a satisfying crunch under the strangely large creature's body.

The fox laid its head upon its front paws, lids lulling over glazed, deep blue eyes and there it stayed, unmoving for several minutes, only its large ears twitching occasionally.

As a pair of fluttering butterflies danced past, those ears perked, and slitted eyes opened to the full as a dark black shape began to emerge from the surrounding forest, silent as the grave.

The fox gave a jubilant yip, mysterious tail swishing back and forth just like a dog's as a sleek, monstrous cat slunk up to him.

Purrs and happy growls were exchanged as the two large creatures made a point of rubbing against one another, tails happily entwining momentarily, as much delicate sniffing went on, as if to assure the other of their well being.

It would have been quite the sight to see, if any mortal animal had stumbled upon it.

But the serene atmosphere was suddenly broken by a sound much like a gunshot, it pierced the air so shrilly. The two in the glade didn't seem much fazed as both their bodies convulsed and twisted, accompanied by the sound of painful cracks.

Fur rippled and receded, paws and claws shortened back into hands and feet, and thick sharp teeth returned to stubs.

Within a matter of moments, two men had appeared in the creatures place.

Naruto wasted no time, gleefully cupping his mate's face to pull those taunting pink lips to his. The kiss was languid and slow, tongues moving without a rush. Inwardly, Naruto was amazed at how after all these years, Sasuke's kisses still managed to light lava in his belly.

He would have been more than happy to heat things up, dipping nimble tan fingers below the Uchiha's waistband, but he was unfortunately pushed off, letting him fall ungracefully off of Sasuke's lap and onto the crunchy, leafy forest floor.

"Oi!" snapped Naruto with a frown, rubbing his sore behind with one hand.

"Hn," muttered Sasuke in reply, taking his own time to get to his feet, before lazily offering a hand to his glaring mate.

Naruto looked hot when he was mad.

"Che," spat the blond as he took the warm palm. Once he was standing, he used the same hand to brush leaves from his hair.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Later. Sheesh, you'd think you'd be less frigid after what we did last night, but noooo. Uchiha Sasuke has to have an icicle for a dick."

Naruto sighed, as if greatly maligned, and watched with cool eyes as Sasuke snorted in response, but gave no other answer as he walked towards the large gnarled tree.

The Uchiha bent down, brushing some of the litter away to reveal a shallow hollow in the base of the tree trunk, where a somewhat dirty pack lay. Sasuke inspected it thoroughly to make sure everything was in place, flicked off the odd spider and then simply flung it over his shoulder. He ignored the waiting blond and simply walked right past him, meandering through the trees with ease. His lips quirked as he heard the strangled yell of indignation behind him.

"You coming, dobe?"

"Fucking teme, why do I even put up with you, huh?"

Sasuke, despite his head start, paused and waited patiently for the grumbling blond to catch up with him, smirking as he saw Naruto glare at him.

"Because you love me," he couldn't help but tease, and then swoop in for a quick kiss as he saw those plump lips burst into an irresistible pout.

Feeling the familiar warmth on his lips, Sasuke was just about to swipe his tongue in when he felt strong hands push at his chest, breaking the connection.

"Later."

Taunting, smoky blue eyes mocked him from barely an inch away, and Sasuke could do little except push himself away and stalk off in the direction of the lone, dirt track path that winded its way through these parts of the lonely mountains.

He grunted as he heard Naruto chuckle from behind him.

Spring was upon them once more; the flowers had sprung open in a beautiful show of colour, their silky petals catching raindrops and early morning dew like stars, the thick hanging curtains of moss doing much the same. There was the lulling tinkle of gushing streams from nearby and the very air felt fresh and clean.

Sasuke liked spring in the countryside; it was just so much...brighter, fresher than in the cities. In fact, the first time he'd experienced spring after their leave from Tokyo, he'd been secretly amazed by the abundance of flora and fauna. The fact that Naruto seemed to like spring enough to dash around, letting his shirt ride up to reveal tan skin, had nothing to do with it whatsoever. Really.

There was just something about the weather that was soothing, and could fill him with a source of contentment. It was more than pleasant, and hearing the chirpy voices of song birds was a nice contrast to what they'd just done the night before; where the smell of blood and fire clogged the senses.

Sasuke let his gaze stray to Naruto, who was walking beside him, but also just a little behind, taking his time to admire the scenery. Naruto liked plants. A lot in fact.

He was even humming a little, totally off key, and appeared oblivious to Sasuke's scrutiny. He took the time to run his dark eyes over the blonde's frame, checking for any injury he might be trying to hide. Once satisfied that Naruto was in just perfect health, Sasuke felt himself relax, shoulders releasing their hunch as he decided to indulge himself in the simple past time of Naruto-watching.

Sometimes, it was difficult to remember that it had been over eight years since he first met Naruto, that the naive teenager he had first got to know, had by now grown into a man; an adult. But whenever he looked at the blonde properly, he could definitely enjoy the results.

Now into his mid twenties, Naruto had lost some of the roundness to his face, leaving a much more sculpted jaw line. His eyes were less round as well, and he'd grown some- he was only a shy couple of inches shorter than Sasuke. And he had a nicely toned physique, Sasuke reminded himself, as he saw the shift of muscles in the blonde's arm as he walked.

The years had changed Sasuke as well; he'd gone through his last growth spurt, leaving him not the tallest man around, but a good height to go with his lithe build, which was one built more for speed and compact power than pure brute force.

To be honest, Naruto was the one who fit that sort of character better, the way he threw himself around.

The thought made his lips quirk again, and if he wasn't careful, Naruto would notice and then make some stupid show of the world coming to an end, or some other such nonsense.

"Aaaah!" called Naruto, with a yawn and a stretch as they finally trod onto the dirt path road which cut right through the forest; in places the trees seemed to be trying to reclaim it, and little weed-like plants clung to the edges like spectators.

This time as they set out on their long journey towards the coast, Naruto walked by his side.

"Maa, last night was tiring, what was the real point of blowing that place up? I mean, it was way too far away from well, uh, anywhere, to have been that important, right?"

Naruto had scrunched up his nose, and was rubbing his top lip with a tan finger. Even as a clear adult, the blond loved to act childish.

Sasuke sighed and hoisted the pack further on his shoulder in an attempt to get comfortable.

"The fact that it was so remote was the problem, usuratonkachi. If it'd been allowed to possibly grow, and left unattended, it could have become a real problem later. If one of the tenmakashi's retreats is gone, there is less places for them to hide, understand? With any luck, they won't discover what happened to this one for a while."

Naruto blinked, and stared blankly in what Sasuke could only hope was comprehension.

"Hmm," muttered the blond after a few moments, "I guess that makes sense, but still! We could have been doing something more important, ne, ne?"

Sasuke sighed once more at the excited tone, and shot Naruto a sideways glare. That troublesome blond of his did it on purpose just to annoy him, he knew it. He felt vindicated when the infuriating blond replied with a grin and a stuck out tongue.

Grumbling on the inside, Sasuke determinedly said nothing, and only looked ahead.

Naruto smiled at his sulking mate (not that Sasuke would ever admit to sulking) and followed beside him with a hop in his step. He was glad that they'd finished their latest mission; it had involved far too much stalking and being quiet for long periods of time. Sasuke could be such a stickler for taking things slowly. Naruto much preferred the action part, which did not include a several week hike up the more vertical side of a mountain, thank you very much.

He scowled in remembrance, and tucked his hands in the baggy pockets of his long, light cotton shirt, which he left partially open; it may only be spring, but it could get hot during the day, especially when travelling. That said Naruto did quite like the often long, treks through the forest that spanned much of the country, when they were flat anyway. After all, he'd grown up in a small village; Konoha had been nestled in the mountains, and he wouldn't lie and say he hadn't missed the seasons, and the trees, and the cool river water during summer...

It had been especially fun that first year that he and Sasuke had spent in the country. He'd been glad to see so much...green after all that steel and glass in the city, and watching Sasuke- not struggle exactly- but yeah, struggle to find his way around in the unfamiliar environment had been endlessly amusing. Naruto liked to think that without him, Sasuke would have died an unglorious death in a ditch somewhere- genius Uchiha didn't think of that, now did he?

Still, Sasuke had been pretty adaptable to the new lifestyle, and didn't complain about any of it; like sleeping on hard bumpy ground, bugs everywhere, and having to find food of the wild variety. In fact, soon Sasuke, with his innate quietness, was better at catching game than he was. Stupid Uchiha. Still, it had been fun, and living rough with Sasuke was hardly a chore- just the opposite really.

Sometimes, often during times like these, when things were quiet and content and the surroundings were so peaceful, it drew him into thinking, mostly of the past. It was nice to mull over things as he gently walked, Sasuke at his side.

He glanced speculatively at Sasuke and couldn't help the warm smile that tilted his mouth.

Fully matured, Sasuke cut a lean, handsome figure against the leafy background; his dark self a wonderful contrast with all that pale lily-white skin and deep as night black.

In many ways, he hadn't changed much from the first time Naruto saw him, though he was undoubtedly older, leaner and perhaps even more mysterious looking. The thought made him want to laugh; Sasuke was hardly mysterious, to him he was just a crabby Uchiha with perhaps a little too much pride, never mind the pretty face.

But Naruto loved him for it; after all, he was his crabby Uchiha with perhaps a little too much pride and a very pretty face.

Naruto struggled to hide his laughter, and forced his head away so he wouldn't burst out into hysterics seeing Sasuke frown in his direction, presumably at his weird expression.

Naruto sighed quite happily to himself as he managed to calm down, and was brought back to his thoughts on the past.

How different he was back then! But then at the same time, so strikingly similar. Naruto couldn't help but wonder about his 'past self', the one who came to Tokyo so naive, so unknowing, of both the world, and himself. Even when he thought he knew more, in hindsight Naruto knew he was painfully ignorant of a lot of things. Like his perception of friends, of his relationship with Sasuke, with Iruka, about himself. Even after he'd found out he was a youkai, a demon, he still hadn't really known what it had meant for him, what he could do, how suddenly different from everyone else he was.

Full of the impatience and narrow vision of a teenager, everything had seemed so simple, one thing after another. And with Sasuke, everything had been filled with a crazy lust, pounding hearts, hitched breaths and terrible embarrassment where every little thing seemed like the biggest deal in the world, full of extremes of happiness and sadness and everything in between with a hasty passion. That was falling in love.

But, just because they were teenagers, didn't mean they couldn't find something good...

Naruto glanced towards Sasuke once again.

Falling in love, and being in love were very different things, he mused. Being in love with someone was a slow sort of thing, steady and something that achieved great depth over time, but never fading. It was a lot more secure and- and to Naruto, far more enjoyable to know this bond he had with Sasuke truly had the weight of grand true emotion behind it. It wasn't a flashy emotion, but it was there; something he just knew whenever he and Sasuke were together, whether they were touching or not, or looking at each other, or not.

The Sasuke he had fallen in love with was quite different from the Sasuke he was in love with now; but that was all right, as they'd both grown, but they'd grown together.

Though he'd often act childish, Naruto wasn't in such a rush as used to be, and Sasuke-well. It was a hard thing to say he was more humble- he could still be as bastardly as ever when he wanted to be, but he had changed like that in some way. As if, maybe, he was more aware of what was really precious to him, rather than what he thought should be...

Naruto rubbed his cheek idly, his head starting to hurt; Sasuke thrived on being an unnecessarily complex being, and though he could figure it out most of the time now, it still gave Naruto a headache.

But the fact of the matter was, they were very much in love with each other, and Naruto didn't need some paltry words or actions to know it. Their feelings had grown over the years to something steady and solid, an unbreakable bond that connected them always.

It will always be Sasuke.

It made him chuckle to think of his younger self; so sure that those first feelings were what real love was; but how could he have known any better? Ignorant he might have been, but he'd managed to find his most precious person, so he couldn't have been completely hopeless.

And he was pretty sure that Sasuke felt the same about himself.

By this time they'd been walking a far while, and Naruto felt pretty damn serene with his life. Thinking about it had reminded him.

For even though their lives revolved around always moving, hiding, and morbidly enough, killing, it was arguably the best time of his life, all these years, just spent with Sasuke, his most precious person. Learning about himself, about Sasuke and about life in general; seeing knew places, new people and having so many new and exciting experiences.

He felt pretty content to be honest. In fact he couldn't think of anything that would make their current life any more near damn perfect as-

Naruto suddenly felt something uncomfortable writhe in his stomach, like a snake in the grass, and caught off guard he had to turn his face away to stare unseeing at the dirt of the path.

He swallowed thickly, and mentally berated himself for such callous thoughts that flew and hovered at the edge of his subconscious.

Trying to mask his sudden discomfort, he spoke loudly.

"So, what are we doing this time? I know its somewhere on the coast, but I can't quite remember..."

Sasuke shot him an irritated look, and Naruto swallowed down his guilt for lying; he knew exactly what they were doing next- it was a big job, he was looking forward to it. Especially as afterwards, they would be heading back to the city- he could see Iruka again-and Kakashi- and it had been so long...

Sasuke, however, despite his irritation, took the time to jog his memory.

"We're heading to the coastal town of Kashima- apparently; we may have something else to blow up. But we are definitely meeting a contact there."

He paused, and peered at Naruto thoughtfully.

"Naruto, are you all right? Just yesterday, you wouldn't shut up about it."

Naruto nearly choked on air, but managed instead to make a squeaky retort of,

"Yeah, I'm just fine- hey, do you think Iruka will have moved into that new apartment yet?"

Sasuke looked at him with blank eyes, ones which Naruto knew meant to say 'Don't lie to me, I know you. However, I will let it pass. This time.'

Naruto hated those looks. He hated them even more when he learnt enough of the Uchiha language of grunts, smirks and looks to know what they meant.

Not particularly wanting to get into a discussion that would just end up going wrong if Sasuke really got into wanting to know his problem, Naruto purposefully switched his gaze to some really rather interesting leaves. They were even two tones! Would you look at that...

Damn Sasuke was still looking at him.

"Ah, Kashima, that ages away, isn't it? How long do you think it'll take us to walk there?"

Ah, good, he managed to distract him. Man, what was with him today? In fact, he'd been having these weird feelings for a few days now. Sasuke was getting pretty suspicious by now, but what was he supposed to say, when he didn't even know what was the matter himself?

He just felt...restless. It wasn't the usual kind and it came so suddenly sometimes, interrupting the peace he'd just been feeling.

How was he to explain something that was probably nothing?

Luckily, Sasuke seemed to take the question seriously.

"A good few weeks, but thankfully we don't have to rush. Our contact won't be able to meet us until well into June."

"Eh?!" yelled Naruto, startled out of his weird thoughts, "But its March right now! How are we supposed to waste three months away?!"

Black eyes sparked, and pink lips twisted into a well used smirk. Or perhaps leer was a better term. Sasuke appeared positively devilish, with narrowed, piercing eyes and a husky voice that spoke of sinful pleasure itself.

"Oh, I'm sure we'll think of something..."

Stupid bastard, stupid sex voice.

Naruto felt his face flush red, and ears burning he glared at the smarmy looking cat.

"You pervert! I can't believe all those girls in Tokyo thought you were a cool guy- you're nothing but a horny cat!"

"Oh?" questioned Sasuke in a silky voice, "I don't believe you complain any when we-"

Any more words were halted from coming from his mouth as Naruto slapped a hand forcefully over the Uchiha's mouth, a twitch to his brows as he wrestled with the urge to punch Sasuke right in his pretty face.

"You can just stop talking now- for the both of us."

Sasuke nodded slowly, but was unable to resist using his tongue, as he licked the blonde's hand; mostly for amusement purposes as Naruto's face scrunched in disgust and hastily removed the hand to rub it against his clothes.

"Eeeww. I hate you, you know that?"

Sasuke simply smirked and kept on walking, though he still had a worry about Naruto's somewhat strange behaviour lurking in the back of his head. The blond had been acting strangely for several days now, and though there was an odd, leaden like feeling in his stomach, he really didn't know what it was. Which was frustrating, as he was sure he should know.

Something was obviously bothering Naruto, he would just have to get it out of him soon.

For Naruto being upset, was unsettling him as well.

As it turned out, it would be several more days until Sasuke could shed some light on Naruto's strange moods.

They had been walking quite peaceably along in the early morning; hoping to get to a spring they'd noted a few months ago for lunch. A bath sounded heavenly, what with the sweat and dirt sticking to their skin and clothes. They'd been unlucky in that they'd only found small streams so far; enough to wash faces and catch a drink, but far too small for some proper cleaning. Sasuke, the cat, could practically feel his skin crawl, while Naruto, the fox, seemed slightly less bothered. Still, both were eager to wash off the grime of a week's worth trekking in the mountains.

However, by the time the sun was reaching its zenith in the sky, both men were flagging somewhat as they were forced to trudge up a steep incline. They were tired, having had little sleep the night before due to problems with some wildlife, and Sasuke felt his resolve to keep soldiering on at a fast pace evaporate as Naruto found more interest in the trees than walking.

What need was there to go so fast anyway? They had plenty of time.

With that thought, Sasuke gladly halted halfway up the hill, and instead watched Naruto wander just off the road, looking at the thick moss that dangled off many of the trees in this area. Occasionally, the blond would reach up a hand to test the strength of it, seeing as it could sometimes be useful.

It was hardly necessary, but it beat walking up a seemingly endless road.

Tired and trying not to show it that much, Sasuke's eyelids had started to droop precariously when he was roused by a very strange sound indeed.

"Awh!"

Sasuke blinked furiously, for one second thinking he was stuck in the past, back at school, and about to be attacked by a rabid collection of girls.

Disorientated, he looked for the source of the high pitched squeak of delight, only to find Naruto.

He blinked again, and watched in a frozen sort of disbelief, as Naruto stared with large blue eyes at something on a low hanging branch.

The blond was practically beside himself as he reached out a finger, to softly touch the downy head of tiny chick, which sat in an equally tiny nest.

"So cute!"

He watched raptly as the tiny creature wriggled, its fluffy small body squirming.

"Oh yes you are, oh yes you are!" he cooed, oblivious to his suddenly rather girlish voice, and the utterly horrified stare of his mate. Far too wrapped up in the little baby bird.

Sasuke squinted, waiting for the strange mirage to vanish, and disturbed when it didn't, refusing to leave his sight.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Naruto really was ...

"Naruto?" called Sasuke tentatively, as if fearing that at any moment his blond fox may attack, his expression stuck somewhere between disbelieving horror and a painful realisation.

"Hm?" Blue eyes looked up at him innocently.

"Are you...are you...being- broody?"

Naruto blinked at that, as if waking from a trance. He turned his gaze to his strangely squinting mate, and then to the little nest by his side. Something akin to dismay passed across his face as he jumped back with a startled yelp. He nearly fell over, and stumbling, he turned large eyes to Sasuke.

"No!" he yelled, "No, no, no, no, no! Why would I be like that? And why would I say those things...hehehe, I'm not a girl!"

Naruto sounded strangled, his voice gurgling as if he were trying vainly to choke himself on it. His face was bright red in embarrassment, as he felt disbelief well in him.

Sasuke, however, didn't find any amusement, and when Naruto turned to face him, he was startled to see a tense jaw and cold eyes. He almost looked...upset about something. Naruto felt his stomach drop.

"You don't have to lie to me Naruto, if that's what you're feeling. I mean, it's perfectly normal for you to want..."

He trailed off, and he turned his head away, fists clenched. His bangs of blue-black hair clinging to his pale skin and hiding his expression.

Naruto knew a conversation like this was going to go badly.

"No!" he cried out, lunging the last few steps to stand by Sasuke's side. He used his hands to cup Sasuke's face and turn it towards him when Sasuke didn't move.

"No, no, no, Sasuke, that's not it. I'm fine, I'm perfectly happy okay? I don't know why I'm acting all weird, so don't- so don't get like this okay?" he said softly, trying to convince Sasuke through the will of his gaze.

The black eyes didn't thaw, but Naruto tried to take it as a good sign when pale hands came to rest on top of his own.

"You may not think it consciously, but if you're behaving that way, there has to be a reason for it," said Sasuke just as softly.

Naruto smiled at him, and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it."

"I can't not worry about it. You're my mate, if you're unhappy-"

"But I am happy!" interrupted Naruto angrily, "Perfectly happy in fact, so let's just go and forget this little ...incident ever happened- it's embarrassing enough!"

Sasuke didn't say anything more, but Naruto could see his disgruntled face, and that he was far from content; the way his lips thinned and pressed together tightly, and the fine wrinkles that appeared between his eyes on his forehead.

He'd been hoping to avoid this sort of conversation; it was something of a sore point for the both of them, and there was nothing either of them could do about it, so why worry? Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't see it that way, and got upset- mostly with himself, just to be illogical. Maybe it had something to do with his weird Uchiha pride, or whatever it was, that he felt he couldn't provide for him, or some shit like that. For someone reputed to have such self confidence, Sasuke was remarkably quick to blame himself for things.

The silence stretched between them so long, Naruto was ready to call it quits and simply change the conversation to something inane and carry on up that stupid hill. He was prevented from doing so, however, when Sasuke finally spoke, voice unreadable.

"Naruto, when was your last heat?"

Oh.

"Uhm..."

Naruto blinked and floundered for a moment, lost. He bit his lip as he tried to remember about this somewhat...delicate part of being a youkai.

It had certainly been a shock, when at nineteen it'd happened for the first time. By then, he was pretty sure he knew all about youkai, so you could imagine his surprise when one morning he woke up sweaty, hot and itchy and a new opening between his thighs that was making the sheets wet. Confused he'd reached down to feel something hot and fleshy, and that sent a jolt of raw pleasure up his spine. Disorientated, he'd pulled up his hand and taken a while to work out what the hell was going on.

Fair to say he'd nearly passed out when he realised that it was a perverse rendition of a vagina, which slit open his perineum. And then Sasuke had come into the room of the tiny house they'd been staying in at the time, and things got a bit hazy. But he did remember a lot of sex. Lots and lots, though it was a bit, uh, different to what they normally did.

They were always a bit bestial, but the way Sasuke went at him, humping away, and the way he reacted; a mixture of snarls, trying to get away and then submitting, he knew that there was something vastly different. He'd never felt panic during sex the way he did when Sasuke literally couldn't pull out of him, that they were stuck. But being wet did make things a bit easier, which was good as Sasuke certainly wasn't going to wait for something as trivial as lubrication. And he'd been in such a lust induced daze most of the time; he only really came out of the experience with an impression of much pleasure and relief.

He'd only been able to properly grill Sasuke about it afterwards, when the need had been satisfied and the hot itchiness was fading to a dim contentment. Not to mention the slit had closed to nothing more than a tight line that could easily be ignored. Sasuke had then been forced to give a somewhat awkward explanation, that involved youkai technically being genderless (or perhaps genderfull would be a better term), and so despite outward appearance, could either carry or sire a child regardless. Naruto, as the one who preferred to bottom during sexual encounters, now that he was of a mature demon age, could go into heat in an attempt to conceive, temporarily forming the required opening from the rather handy thing called chakra. Technically, the womb and other necessary parts, including the required eggs, were more permanent fixtures, but only came into use at specific times.

He'd nearly passed out again, but instead settled for slugging Sasuke across the face for keeping such vital information a secret. Not to mention being initially, very weirded out. It hadn't helped that at the time, he'd gone into a hyper panic about then being pregnant, of all bloody things. Further explanation was required that youkai as a rule weren't very fertile, a fact balanced out with their long lives, so it was unlikely Naruto was going to actually have a baby very soon. Add to that, that heats were somewhat infrequent, occurring between every eighteen months to two years (though the gap could be much longer) Naruto was appeased that he wasn't going to be a teen mother overnight. At that time, such a thought gave him shudders at night, and poor Sasuke wasn't allowed back into his pants for quite a while.

That had been a long time ago now though, and Naruto had had several heats; and they were more than enjoyable really; extremely satisfying sex and nearly all the time for up to three weeks solid. What wasn't there to like?

However, now they were older, and much more secure in their bond with each other, the idea of a baby didn't seem quite so...unappealing. They both didn't have a family to call their own, despite Iruka and Kakashi; it just wasn't the same as having someone of your own blood, despite what people may say.

Sasuke was eager to regain a family of his own, pass on his sharingan and revive his clan. Sasuke had always been, at his core, a family man and despite his prickly ways, would surely adore little Uchiha kits of his own.

And for Naruto, having an actual family, related by blood, was something that had always been beyond his grasp. And the desire to actually have someone related to him in the world had lately become stronger than ever. Especially if that little person was from Sasuke, his much loved mate.

As a result lately, the topic had become somewhat awkward between them, and painful.

But there really wasn't anything either of them could do except wait for it to happen.

Though this fact didn't seem to be able to stop Sasuke performing the Uchiha equivalent of sulking.

Biting his lip, Naruto mulled Sasuke's question over, trying to remember the last time. It shouldn't be hard, but getting the timing right could be tricky when it was many months apart.

Last time, he seemed to recall, they'd had to find somewhere underground, and settled for a large burrowed hollow under a tree, as they'd been snow on the ground; and frostbite in sensitive places wasn't fun. It had been hot and steamy, as well as cozy in that underground den, nice and isolated from everywhere else, just as Sasuke liked it; keeping his heating mate away from potential harm danger, and most importantly, other youkai.

After several consecutive days, they'd had to dig their way out through several feet of snow to find food.

He blinked when he realised that that hadn't been last year's winter, liked he'd thought, but the previous one.

"Oh."

"Oh?" asked Sasuke, sounding a bit less sullen as he raised an eyebrow. He seemed to have reached the same conclusion before Naruto had.

"Wow- I didn't think it'd been over two years, no wonder I'm acting weird!"

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Sasuke rolled his eyes and called him an idiot.

"Well, at least that explains why you're- well, broody at the moment. You must be going into heat again soon, and your body is preparing for it."

Naruto made a face. While the sex was nice, thinking of the physical changes it brought was still embarrassing, even if he had gotten over the weirdness of what he was by now.

"If you mention hormones again this time, I'll fucking kill you, understand?"

"Hai, hai," said Sasuke lightly, suddenly sounding a lot more cheerful; as much as Sasuke could anyway.

"At least we've got something to do now until June, huh?"

The perverted smirk was back. Naruto felt an eyebrow twitch.

An ominous growl rumbled from the blonde's chest, and before he could be brutally maimed by his mate, Sasuke began to race up the rest of the hill, a murderous fox shouting obscenities from behind him.

He couldn't help but be relieved though, knowing what was with Naruto. And perhaps this time, they might even get a chance to start that family the both of them had secretly longed for, for a very long time indeed.

Now all he had to think about, was where to cloister themselves for the next several weeks so they could have the appropriate privacy.

Oh yes, days upon days of the best angry-passionate- lusty- rough- animal sex would surely make the both of them feel better.

Even running from his murderous mate, he felt his cock twitch, as he thought of what was to come.

He nearly moaned out loud; it'd been far too long.

Chancing a glance over his shoulder he noticed that Naruto had run out of steam already, glaring at him, but bending over trying to catch his breath. Sasuke frowned, and walked up to him gingerly, wary of being tricked, but Naruto appeared to really be tired.

Sure, Sasuke was faster, but Naruto had a hell of a lot more stamina.

Much of his energy must have already been diverted to prepare his body for the possible feat it would have to endure. The actual heat was draining; lots of activity with minimal eating, but most of his energy right now was going to enrich the uterus, to make it viable for a pregnancy; bringing a new youkai into the world was an incredibly draining feat to manage. The baby would take so much from the mother in order to grow in its most vulnerable stage, that there would have to be a large amount of preparation within the body before a pregnancy could even take hold.

And it seemed that right now, Naruto's body was preparing for just that, on the off chance a child was conceived in the coming heat.

Which must be coming sooner than he had thought, if Naruto was already like this.

Sasuke thought deeply, as he took his arms around Naruto and lifted him so they could finish the last climb up the hill. It would probably start in just a few days- he'd have to find a remote place quick, and then feed Naruto up some so he could last through however long they'd be occupied with ...well, sex.

Glorious, glorious sex; he couldn't fucking wait till he had Naruto beneath him, mounted and moaning like the bitch in heat he was...

He licked his lips in anticipation, already feeling his blood start to boil in retaliation to the knowledge that his mate would soon be fertile and needing him.

The Uchiha shook his head a little, trying to shrug off the way his thoughts were already becoming more primal in response to Naruto; it seemed even his body recognized what was up with his mate before he did, and could sense the soon approaching heat.

With a slight grimace, he and Naruto finally reached the top of the thrice damned hill. There was nothing to show it, no clearing in the canopy, and the dirt path winded out into the distance, curving round and out of sight almost immediately, showing nothing of the future terrain.

Sasuke could feel himself growling, the sound too low to leave his chest, but enough to make his ribs vibrate. He peered at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, to see the blond looking rather blankly at the ground. Feeling Sasuke's gaze upon him, blue eyes turned to him, blinking.

"What?"

Sasuke shook his head, fighting the darker instincts of his mind and instead turned to one of the large trees nearby. He looked it up and down measuringly, before taking a small step back.

Crouching a little, he quickly jumped, claws coming out to lodge him safely in the bark and he jumped and shimmied his way up metres of century old tree, with all of his feline grace intact.

He could sense blue eyes scowling at him from below the branches in confusion, but Sasuke ignored it, and instead used his strength to pull him up the last few feet to the tree top, bursting through the halo of leaves and tree bark.

He clung precariously to the increasingly thin trunk, and used his dark eyes to scan the surrounding area with crystal clear clarity. It was a good thing he wasn't afraid of heights, for he was so far off the ground that a fall would be deadly. For a human, anyway.

Keen eyes raked the landscape, seeing farther, and in much greater detail than any human eyes. There were many dips and hollows in the area, covered with a carpet of trees, but they were all far too open, and none caught his eye till he found a little ridge, a bump of grey rock among a sea of green. Just below it was a ribbon of something glistening, and Sasuke decided it would be the best place, with nothing else on offer.

There was no scent of human on the air, or other youkai, and surely they could find somewhere comfortable enough to spend their weeks of rutting.

His inner beast satisfied, Sasuke clawed his way back down, simply jumping the last few metres to land safely on all fours.

He dusted himself off, and was glad to see Naruto recovered, and peering at him questioningly.

"Had to find somewhere for us to go, and I think I've found somewhere good enough. And it's not too far."

"Hai, hai," commented Naruto lightly, pushing himself to stand, jogging towards him.

Obviously, he was feeling better.

The blond fox grinned at him cheekily.

"Now then Sasuke-sama, if you would be so kind to direct us to our kinky love-chamber, I would be most grateful- need to get settled in you know, feel the atmosphere, that kind of thing- maybe even have a few warm ups before the main event, ne?"

Naruto may complain about him being a pervert, but really, Naruto was a keen pervert too.

This somehow felt familiar to the dour cat, and he watched with hungry gleaming eyes as Naruto sashayed past him, blue eyes darkening with the promise of lust.

"You're wiggling your hips, a bit like a girl, you know that right?"

But alas, teasing his blond mate was just far too hard to resist, especially when he was acting serious.

Watching Naruto fume red in annoyance and some anger, and maybe a little embarrassment was far too much fun.

"Shut up! You're ruining it!"

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle and gladly wrapped his arms around the pissed off blond. He gazed into those fiery eyes and rubbed soft circles on Naruto's hips, knowing that his fingers were barely an inch away from some very sensitive sweet spots.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, letting his words breeze over a tan ear, and watched as Naruto closed his eyes at the sensation, "why don't I make it up to you?"

He followed his sultry words with a slow, languid kiss that melted over their lips and roused old burnings inside.

Navy, slitted eyes opened to meet his when they drew apart, and Naruto spoke with a dark, low voice that Sasuke secretly loved.

"Oh, you could make it up to me..."

"Come on then."

A/N: How was it? I hope my mpreg explanation was clear enough, more will be explained in coming chapters. And, can we guess whats comings next chapter? Oh yeah baby! The kinky lemons are back, hotter and longer than ever! With extra animal-ness! Nice, eh? I'm glad i got this done before my nasty exam period starts, so if the next chapter is a bit more delayed than my usual posting time, that'll be why- i'm busy with exams i need to get into the uni i want...great.

I'd much rather be writing.

Anyway, hope you all enjoed this chapter, giving me some feedback would be wonderful, and more to come soon, ja!