A/N: I wrote the bulk of this chapter tonight. I've edited to the best of my sleep-addled ability, so any mistakes are my bad. And the plot thickens...

Warnings: With the risk of spoiling a little, this is where the magic happens. There is dirty, sexy things in here. Lots of it. Enjoy!

Cover

By General16

Chapter Eleven

Machinate - arrange by systematic planning a united effort

The room was quiet in the late hour, dimly lit by a fire crackling in the fireplace and torches in their holders on the wall. Shadows danced on thick stone walls, shifting and writhing on the cold backdrop; the rain outside a dull pitter-patter against the windows.

"Fumiko." The man behind the desk, at the other side of the room addressed without taking his eyes off of the document in his hands, when a knock on the door disturbed the peace..

"Of course, Katsuro-sama." Fumiko, standing a step to the right of his master, placed the heavy tome in his hands on the table top smoothly, his shadow weaving and hopping over the walls when he strode to the door.

"Fumiko-san", the interloper on the other side of the door greeted meekly when Fumiko opened the door on silent hinges; his gaze darting up and past Fumiko to look towards Katsuro.

"Asu", Fumiko greeted coolly. "May I help you?"

"Ah…" The guard hesitated and took another step back, nervously licking his suddenly dry lips. "I-I'm not supposed to talk to anyone else than-"

"I can hear you clearly from here", Katsuro said without looking up from his documents. Asu flinched again, breath going uneven and wobbly when his eyes flew up to meet Fumiko's. Fumiko simply raised a finely shaped eyebrow in return.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Katsuro-sama, but word has reached us that… Yuzuha-san's castle has been breached."

Later, Asu would swear the air itself froze to ice. Katsuro slowly raised his head and fixed cold, black eyes on him. Silence stretched out, tension growing thicker and thicker until Asu felt as if he would choke on it.

"When?" Katsuro asked at length and leaned back in his chair, absentmindedly smoothing out the scroll under his hands.

"The dove arrived thirty minutes ago." Asu almost keeled over when Fumiko reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. He took a stumbling step back at the last minute, swallowing convulsively and shooting Fumiko a terrified look. Fumiko lowered his hand, his face the same mask of calm and indifference as always.

"What of the men I left there?"

"Um… all dead but… three, Katsuro-sama."

Katsuro's face remained unmoving, and Asu tried to tell himself he was imagining things, when his master's eyes seemed to grow even colder. "Could they identify the ones behind the attack?"

"No… they wore masks and standard issue clothing, it could've been anyone."

Finally Katsuro showed some semblance of emotion, when his lips twisted into a wry semblance of a smile. "I sense a 'but'."

"Ah yes", Asu laughed, high pitched and nervous. "But… one of the men saw a mark one an arm."

"A mark?"

"ANBU."

Katsuro simply watched his men for a long moment, but while Asu was visibly sweating and shaking from the strain of the silence, Fumiko observed his master calmly, patiently waiting for him to speak up.

Katsuro almost whispered and his voice was laced with a dark kind of joy. "Konoha?"

Asu almost deflated with relief and his head bobbed in a quick confirmation. "We believe so, Katsuro-sama."

A smile did stretch Katsuro's mouth at that, and Asu had never been more terrified in his whole life. "Ah, they finally made their move." Gracefully rising from his seat, Katsuro strode to the two men, smiling all the while. Asu took another step back, when Katsuro's shadow seemed to loom over the whole room, swallowing what little light there was.

"Fumiko, send a message to our man in Konoha. Tell him I am in need of his services and that he must establish contact as soon as possible."

Fumiko bowed. "Yes, Katsuro-sama." He didn't bother to look if Asu would follow as he walked down the dark corridor, but when it came to Asu, he considered Fumiko less scary and not as menacing as their master by a long shot. Scurrying after the taller man, they disappeared down the hallway, leaving Katsuro to close the door after them.

He stared out into open air, the smile still resting on his face growing wider. "Finally", he whispered. "They finally took the bait…"

"How have you been, Naruto?"

Naruto squirmed under the discreet scrutiny directed at him, his gaze darting around and looking at everything except the woman on the other side of the low coffee table, who regarded him with calm patience.

"…Fine", he said at length, the tension in his shoulders slowly melting away; he sank deeper into the plush couch, the leather creaking under his weight.

The doctor gave a small, almost imperceptible sigh before she smiled. Naruto liked her; she had a calm and no-nonsense attitude he could appreciate, when it wasn't aimed at him, that is. "Naruto… you know I don't want to let you get away with that answer."

"Yeah, I-" He glanced at the clock mounted at the wall behind her desk. Still 50 minutes to go.

"Well, you can sit here for an hour and not say a word, this is your time and it's yours to do what you want with…" She leaned back in her chair and put one leg over the other, smiling gently and tapping her pen against the small notebook propped against her knee. "But, with that said, I can't really help you if you won't say anything else than 'fine' after four sessions."

Sighing deeply, Naruto let his head fall until his chin touched the top of his chest. Four weeks had passed since the mission; four long, terrible weeks filled with nightmares, no appetite, flashbacks and guilt so thick and heavy nearly every day felt suffocating. Tsunade, who Naruto suspected had been tipped off by Kakashi, had finally ordered Naruto to go see the ANBU appointed psychiatrist, Maiko Hitoshi.

After a month with sessions twice a week hadn't gotten them very far. Naruto wasn't used to open up to strangers, not about his deepest, darkest fears and worst nightmares anyway. He was used to dealing with all of that himself, mainly by chanting the mantra "suppress, suppress, and suppress!" over and over, until the problems either solved themselves of sank so deep into the recesses of his mind, the chance of them ever surfacing was miniscule. Like Sasuke. His mind shied away at the mere thought of his former lover, best friend and teammate.

True to Naruto's words, as he'd prophesied to Kakashi a month before, Sasuke hadn't taken the news of a rival in his half-assed pursuit of Naruto in good spirits. He'd started showing up every day, wherever Naruto happened to be present at, which had driven Naruto to spend most of his waking time at the ANBU HQ, where Sasuke couldn't follow him, at the ANBU training grounds, or at Kakashi's place.

But whenever Naruto tried to put his foot anywhere else, Sasuke was there, like a god damned jack in the box; he popped out and remained in Naruto's general vicinity, never invading his private space but hoovering at the precipice of it. All the freaking time.

If Kakashi was there, Sasuke wasn't quite as obvious, though Naruto knew the Copy-nin saw right through Sasuke, and had taken to stake his claim in the most, annoying ways he could possibly come up with. Naruto didn't know whether to laugh, pull his hair or scream in frustration. Naruto had told Sasuke, a hundred times by now, to back the hell off. Sasuke, as was his nature, of course didn't listen. Kakashi, Naruto couldn't determine if it was sweet of horrifying, had said the same, and when he got the same result as Naruto, had actually taken to put small, but not in the least discreet notes on Naruto; slapping them on his back, his arms, the back of his head and on his ass, which said, in Kakashi's surprisingly, elegant and loopy handwriting: "Property of Hatake Kakashi, that means you, Uchiha Sasuke!"

After weeks of this nonsense, Naruto was at the end of his rope. He really didn't know how to handle Sasuke, or get him to understand the fact that they were never going to get together again. Not when Naruto's heart belonged to another.

That he still hadn't progressed beyond heated make out sessions with Kakashi, who still refused to just do him already, was another thing in his life Naruto wasn't prepared to dedicate any more time brooding over. He'd resigned himself to the fact that Kakashi and he would bone, like rabbits and preferably for days, when Kakashi, not Naruto who - let's face it, was about to burst two months ago – was good and ready to let nature run its' course. The niggling thought that he maybe should just fess up and tell Kakashi about his more-than-friends-with-benefit-feelings wasn't worth considering. Yet.

"Naruto?"

His head snapped up at the soft question, he had entirely forgotten where he was and what he was supposed to do there.

"Yes, I'm sorry what?"

Dr. Hitoshi's face fell into a mock scowl. "You're supposed to tell me what's on your mind, not disappear into it." Naruto snorted, a smile reluctantly pulling at his the corners of his mouth.

"Jokes aside, why don't you tell me something?"

"Like what?" He reached up to rub the back of his neck, feeling out of his depth and not knowing how to regain his footing again.

"Whatever you like", she told him cheerfully.

"Ah…" He scratched the side of his nose, searching after something, anything, to say. "Well, when I was five… I got to eat my first bowl of ramen."

How 50 minutes could end up feeling like 50 years, Naruto couldn't figure out. He squinted at the harsh sunlight stabbing his eyes when he stepped out of Dr. Hitoshi's office, lingering on the doorstep for a moment. The sessions always left him feeling a little off kilter, even though he hadn't really said anything of importance; though Dr. Hitoshi always reassured him that it didn't really matter what he talked about in the beginning, everyone had their own pace, it took time, yada yada, but as long as he talked, she was happy to listen.

Naruto didn't really know how to feel about it, having someone – even if it was her freaking job – just sitting there and letting him ramble about ramen, of all things, for an hour and still bid him goodbye with a smile. He'd been alone for a really long time, his whole life in fact, and the notion to open up to Dr. Hitoshi, to anyone, felt more than a little alien to him. The stuff he knew, had always known actually, he needed to talk about; his shitty childhood, all of his experiences in the field, good and bad, the entity inside of him… He had never told a soul.

Sure he'd sprouted about it left and right as a kid, in the hopes that someone would listen, but that had been stuff people already knew about. He had only dared to bare a small, superficial part of it to Sasuke, years ago, and a little more to Kakashi in the latest months. But he'd never, ever sat down with a person and told them all about it. How he'd stopped crying himself to sleep because he'd learned there wasn't anyone coming to chase the loneliness away. How he'd quickly learned all of about the back streets and hidden passages inside of Konoha's city limits at an early age, to avoid larger gatherings of people. How he'd learned to dodge rotten fruit and vegetables because sometimes someone would throw them at him. How he'd grown used to, and had learned to ignore, harsh, hurtful words whispered behind his back.

How was he supposed to just open up about something like that when he couldn't bring himself to talk about the anguish and guilt he felt from killing another human being, let alone two of them?

Shaking his head, Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and strolled in the direction of his apartment. To get there from Dr. Hitoshi's office, he had to cross a market place. It was one of Konoha's bigger squares, and full of people milling about. It kinda gave him a little perspective after his appointments. When he was dodging old grandmas with baskets almost as big as themselves slung over one arm, or when he almost stumbled over a gaggle of giggling and shrieking kids, play fighting and arguing with their childish voices, it made him remember why. It was just as Kakashi had told him; they did it for them. So they could keep smiling and live in safety, so they could carry on their life, knowing their village was protected.

And that was another part about him Naruto wasn't really sure how to explain. By all rights he should've grown up filled with hate and wanting to leave the place where people had treated him so harshly. But he didn't. He just nurtured a deep, compelling urge to prove them wrong, so they could see that he was not the Kyuubi, he wasn't evil incarnated and would do all in his power to protect them from harm, no matter what they said or did to him. They were precious to him, every last soul in Konoha.

Naruto was abruptly ripped from his thoughts, when a hand caught his arm in a steady grip and Sakura's voice reached his ears. "Naruto!"

"Whoa!" he exclaimed and almost fell on his ass when he took a stumbling step back. Sakura let go of his arm and grabbed his jacket, hauling him upright.

"Jeez, I only said your name. No need to behave like I scared the living daylights out of you." She pouted, but Naruto could tell she was only kidding. He gave her a sheepish smile and rubbed at the back of his head.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan. I was just thinking about what to get when I got to Ichiraku's-"

"Yeah no, we both know that's just bullshit", she cut in flatly and shifted her grip. "Now, I'm just dying for a cup of tea and some dango, and you look like you need to talk about the fact that you haven't even breathed a word to me about your thing with Kakashi."

Naruto tried to wriggle out of her grip, even going so far as to dig his heels into the ground, only to find himself yanked forward, trapped in her steely grasp. "Sakura-chan", he whined when she all but dragged him towards a place where she could get what she wanted, sweets and answers both.

"Don't you 'Sakura-chan' me, Naruto. I have barely seen you for the past three months, I really want to sit down and talk to you." She gave him a look and he deflated like a punctured balloon and let her guide him – very firmly – into the nearest tea house and forcefully push him down in a chair.

Before he knew it, a cup of tea was placed in front of him by a smiling waitress, and Sakura had a cup of her own and a plate of treats.

"Now", she said around a mouthful of sweets, "you have to tell me everything."

Naruto sighed, deeply. He'd tried to tell Kakashi how it would end, but that bastard hadn't believed him. "What do you want to know?"

"Maybe how you went from bawling on my couch to sleeping with our old sensei?" Sakura leaned forward in her chair, an interested gleam brightening her green eyes.

"I wasn't bawling!" he said indignantly. Sakura just raised her eyebrows and Naruto knew he wouldn't get away with anything but the truth. Well not all of it, but at least the parts he could freely tell her about.

"I don't really know", he admitted at length, because it was true. "I had a thing coming up and he was assigned to give me a little extra training for it. It kinda… evolved from there, I guess."

"A thing?" Sakura didn't seem to buy the vague answer, if her sceptic face was anything to go by. But she didn't ask anything else, just gave him that look, the one she always gave him when she knew he was hiding something and damn her, she knew him too well!

"I… I was training for the ANBU trails", he finally muttered, reluctantly. Sakura jolted back and covered her mouth with a shaking hand, her eyes widening with shock.

"ANBU?" she whispered from behind her fingers. "Oh Naruto…"

"Don't!" Naruto almost barked in response. "It's done. I shouldn't even tell you but…" He glanced down at his hands, clasped them when he felt overcome by the urge to get up and run away from this conversation.

"Naruto no, I wasn't going to scold you", Sakura said. She reached out and put her hand over his, squeezing lightly. "I was just really shocked. I never thought you of all people would join… them."

Naruto tensed up, his eyes snapping to hers. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well you're not the kind of person to go out on clandestine missions and just… y'know?" She made a vague gesture. Naruto surmised she meant killing.

"Turns out I am", he told her flatly. "I'm sorry", he then said and pushed back from the table. "I shouldn't have said that, forget about it."

"Wait", Sakura pleaded and grabbed his wrist before he could get away. "Sit down, Naruto, please. You just… surprised me. A hell of a lot." Snorting, Naruto sank down in the chair again.

"Yeah I can tell."

They stared at each other over the table, silence stretching too long and threatening to slip into uncomfortable territory before Sakura seemed to have digested the bomb he'd just dropped on her.

"So-"

Naruto tensed up, ready to defend his reasons for joining ANBU and already dreading all the logical reasons she no doubt wanted him to know, where she'd tell him what a terrible idea it was.

"How does Kakashi look underneath that uniform? He's hot right? I bet he's all hard and sleek and-"

Naruto almost fell off his chair. That was not what he'd been expecting at all. "Sakura!" he exclaimed, a furious blush burning on his cheeks. Normally he wouldn't get embarrassed, but when it came to Kakashi he wasn't able to brag and share like he'd used to. Somehow what he had – or rather didn't have – with their former sensei was too new and fragile to sit around and gush about just yet.

"What?" She sounded indignant. "I have eyes y'know! I've always wondered what he'd look like naked. Is it good? I bet he's all dreamy and-"

Naruto groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Please stop."

"You can't be serious. Naruto-" her hands curled around the edges of the table and she leaned forward so they were almost nose to nose, "I have to know. For my own peace of mind."

"You have Lee!"

Sakura waved it away. "And he's wonderful, even more so when he's naked, but!" She held up a finger. "He's not the guy who tormented my teenage dreams with images of what he'd look like spread out on my bed."

Naruto floundered for a moment, mouth opening and closing because he had no idea at all what to say to that. "You were obsessed with Sasuke for years!" He was almost screeching by that point, but Sakura just observed him calmly, totally unruffled.

"I was a girl surrounded by hot boys and men, for all of my formative years. Of course I wanted to see Kakashi naked! I even wanted to have a look at you under that hideous jumpsuit you always wore."

Naruto slumped back in his chair, his whole world turned upside down. "It's like I don't even know you anymore."

"What?" She looked kinda offended. "I'm a grown woman; I can admit now what I never could way back then."

"It was only six years ago!"

"That's not the point. Now spill."

Sighing, he gave up. "He's… really good looking."

Sakura scowled. "Pfft, I can tell that without seeing his face. Details, I want them."

"Well… he's got dimples and a great mouth and his arms are just-" he took a moment to make an appreciative noise, echoed by Sakura, "and then his abs, oh my god I could probably wash my entire life on those and come out squeaky clean and then his ass, oh don't get me started-"

"Is he packing?" Sakura interjected, her eyes were almost glowing with interest.

"I don't know", Naruto groaned and covered his face with his hands again. "We haven't had sex yet and it's slowly killing me." Funny that, all it took for him to start gushing was Sakura pushing. Maybe he should invite her to his next session with Dr. Hitoshi?

"What?" Sakura seemed stymied. "You haven't slept with him? How long have you dated?"

"Four months, give or take."

She was genuinely miffed by this information. Slowly leaning back, her face turned contemplating. "That's not what I've… huh."

"What? What's that huh about?"

"Well from what I've heard-" Sakura trailed off when she caught the look on Naruto's face. "But never mind that, it's just a rumor I'm sure it's not true." She pushed back from the table, suddenly fidgeting with the hem of her dress and avoiding Naruto's eyes with all her might.

"Sakura…" Naruto's voice stopped her. Staring down at her hands for a long moment, Sakura eventually sighed.

"It's just… Iyo-san, I work with her at the hospital? Well, she has this friend, Amane-san, and she told Iyo-san about how she went on a date with Kakashi-sensei last year, during the temple festival?"

Naruto's gaze could've burned a hole through the table top, he was glaring so hard. "Go on", he gritted out.

"Naruto…"

"Go. On."

"Well… from what Iyo-san heard, her friend barely made it from the temple area before Kakashi had her naked. And that's not even the first time." Sakura gave a high pitched, stilted laugh. "Kakashi-sensei is actually kinda famous at the hospital for all the nurses he's slept with, men and women both. There's this rumor going around that he has a fetish and-"

It felt like getting punched in his solar plexus and his balls at the same time, as Sakura nervously rambled on about all the people Kakashi has supposedly danced the horizontal tango with. And if Sakura and all her co-workers were to be believed, that was more than half the staff.

Naruto knew he had no reason to feel jealous. What, or rather who, Kakashi had done before he became involved with Naruto was none of his business. To be perfectly honest, it still wasn't. They hadn't promised each other anything, had made no proclamations of eternal fidelity or that they would stop seeing other people. It wasn't fair to compare every person to Sasuke, not everyone was like the last Uchiha. Most people remained faithful to their current partner; just because Sasuke had cheated on him didn't mean Kakashi would.

But why was he still refusing to sleep with Naruto then? Kakashi had told him how much he wanted him; how he burned for Naruto but didn't think Naruto was ready yet. Was it true? If Kakashi was sleeping with other people even as he was semi-dating Naruto, he didn't really have to sleep with him right away, not if he had several someone to take care of his needs.

Naruto's stomach threatened to turn inside out right then and there. Bile burned in his throat and he had to swallow several times before he could respond to the bomb Sakura had unintentionally dropped in his lap.

Naruto opened his mouth, prepared to wave away the awkward tension. "Oh."

"I'm sure it's not what you're thinking, Naruto", Sakura tried to assure him. "Maybe-"

"It's not really like that between us", Naruto hurried to interject, too fast if going by Sakura's doubtful expression. "We're keeping it casual."

"Uh-huh. And how many people keeping it casual do you think wait with the sex part for what? Four months?"

"Give or take", Naruto muttered darkly. Sakura opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say more, but shut it again without uttering a word. They sat there at the table in the busy shop, staring at the white tablecloth with their minds millions of miles away.

"I think you should talk to Kakashi."

"I have to talk to Kakashi." They said it at the same time, and after a brief second where they stared at each other, they started laughing. Naruto didn't know exactly why, but he laughed until tears streamed down his cheeks and he had to put a hand to his side, it hurt so much. It felt freeing in a way the few sessions with his therapist hasn't so far. Sakura had her head thrown back, shrieking with glee and their loud mirth dragged other customers' annoyed gazes.

They finally got a hold of themselves when the woman behind the register glared darkly in their direction.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan. You've no idea how much I needed that", Naruto said, giving her a fond smile.

She waved it away. "Don't mention it. Just don't go and keep ignoring me. I'm still your friend, Naruto, I'll always be here if you need to talk. "She gave him a glittering look full of mischief. "Even if it's just to brag about Kakashi's hot, naked body."

Snorting, Naruto rose from his seat and leaned down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. "I promise I'll stop ignoring you. See you, Sakura-chan!" Waving, Naruto exited the shop and headed to Kakashi's place. He had several questions he needed an answer to, and he had been a coward and had put off asking them for too long.

Walking with that purpose in mind, Naruto didn't even notice when people just seemed to melt away from his path. They looked up, took in the dark, determined look on his face and stepped aside, giving him a wide berth. Wide strides carried Naruto forward, twisting and turning and his feet led him through several of the shortcuts he'd utilized in his childhood, when he'd fled from angry, hurtful people or enraged shinobi after a successful prank.

Usually a walk from the north side of Konoha, where Dr. Hitoshi's office was located, to Kakashi's place in the south district would've taken him at least thirty minutes. This time Naruto was more than half way and he still had over ten minutes to spare. His mind was spinning through half-formed thoughts; questions barely had time to form before he disregarded them.

Where would he even start? Would Kakashi be willing to answer them at all? Naruto was afraid that when he arrived at Kakashi's his brain would be so fully crammed with words, he wouldn't get a single one past his lips. He was terrified but at the same time he wanted this whole thing to be over with.

He was sick of hiding what he felt, sick and tired of not having what he really wanted, which was all of Kakashi, body and soul. The older man might be annoying and vexing at times, but he was also kind and understanding and so freaking patient, it was slowly killing Naruto.

Naruto wanted to be reckless, to take his newfound courage and fling himself off the edge of the cliff his emotions had tethered on for months now. He wanted to not give a single, flying fuck about anything but his feelings for Kakashi, to face everything head on, just like he'd done in battled in the past.

Maybe this was what Kakashi had meant when he'd said Naruto wasn't ready? Had Kakashi waited for Naruto to reach this point, where Naruto would make the first move? But then, Naruto had already moved, several times, and where whining and awkward seduction attempts hadn't taken him anywhere, could honesty do the trick?

Kakashi had never mentioned anything about feelings beyond lust, though if he'd bedded people for less in the past, why was Naruto so different? Could there be stronger feelings behind Kakashi's refusal to sleep with him? Did Naruto dare hope it was?

"Hello Naruto."

Sasuke's voice behind him stopped Naruto, froze him in his tracks. Standing rigid and feeling so fucking fed up with the whole situation; Kakashi's confusing behavior, the stress from coming to terms with who he was now, after taking lives, Sasuke's suborn refusal to take no for a no… Naruto was at his breaking point.

"Hello Sasuke", Naruto replied without turning around, eyes firmly fixed at the building where Kakashi lived, the roof indistinctly in sight two blocks away.

"You look like you're in a hurry." Naruto could hear Sasuke stepping closer, stopping barely a hair's breadth from his back. He radiated warmth, he'd always done that. Naruto had wondered, on many occasions, if it was because of Sasuke's affinity for fire.

"I am", Naruto said, coolly. For once he wasn't feeling flustered or furious when Sasuke was around; he only felt annoyed by the delay. He really didn't want to stand there and pretend neither he nor Sasuke knew what Sasuke was doing. Maybe it was time to put an end to the game. "I'm going to Kakashi's place."

"Is that so…" Sasuke drawled, and pressed up against his back, his hands coming up to take a firm hold on Naruto's waist. Naruto didn't move. "You seem to spend an awful amount of time with Kakashi these days."

Naruto drew a deep breath, to steady himself. "I'm in love with him; I want to spend as much time with him as possible." Sasuke could've been made from stone, he was so still. His grip on Naruto tightened, on the verge of hurting.

He sounded a little strangled when he spoke again. "Yeah?"

Naruto nodded, and the back of his head brushed against Sasuke's mouth. "Yeah."

"I can't let you go", Sasuke said, at length, after a long moment of strained silence. It sounded like it was dragged out of him, and Naruto was almost surprised at the level of honesty in Sasuke's words.

"Sasuke… you have to", Naruto said gently. "What we had… it was special and great while it lasted but…"

"I screwed up", Sasuke filled in, his voice steady but Naruto could detect at hint of a quiver in it.

Naruto nodded again. "Yeah, you did." Naruto took a step out of Sasuke's reach, his hands falling away without protest. He turned and looked at his best friend, his former lover, with eyes no longer bitter, but sad and regretful. "If you could've talked with me, told me about your worries about your clan… we could've found a way, together."

Sasuke didn't contradict him, or stop him.

"But, you decided on your own your course of action, and didn't bother to even tell me and Sasuke…" Naruto reached up to cup Sasuke's cheek in his hand. Sasuke closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, as to keep Naruto close with that. "That speaks more about our entire relationship than any words ever could." Stepping back, Naruto took a last look at his former lover. "You need to stop with this. I'm not coming back; I need you to understand that. We can still see each other; you're still my closest friend… my oldest friend."

Sasuke didn't say anything for a moment, but then he opened his eyes at the same time as his shoulders drooped ever so slightly. "No second chances, huh?"

Naruto huffed with wry amusement. "It wasn't even the second when we got together. Try, like, the twentieth. I don't have any more to give you."

Nodding, Sasuke took a step back, widening the space between them. Naruto hadn't really thought it would be so easy, to get Sasuke to back off. But then again, Sasuke knew Naruto well enough to know that he didn't take the word love lightly. If Naruto said he was in love, Sasuke had no other choice but to believe him. Sasuke dipped his head again, almost to himself and took another step back. It felt like a goodbye to who they had been; a last farewell to what they'd had. "I'll see you around, dobe."

"See you, bastard."

It was rare for Kakashi not to jolt awake and jerk himself out of the grasps of yet another nightmare. So it was a treat to slowly blink against the light spilling in through his window, where he'd forgotten to pull the blinds last night. Kakashi stared dazedly up at the ceiling. It took him a while to gather his sluggish thoughts and turn his head, peering at the alarm clock on his nightstand. It read a quarter to noon.

He was not a morning person; Kakashi would openly admit that to anyone who asked. When he got the chance, and it wasn't that often to be honest, he always took advantage of it by sleeping in late, usually waking around noon. It suited him just fine. He'd been on leave from mission, official and ANBU both, for two weeks already and enjoyed the down time by reading, defending Naruto from Sasuke's subtle advances and working out when he wasn't visiting the Memorial Stone or the graveyard. It was habits years in the making, and hard to break at that.

Kakashi knew Naruto was seeing a therapist, the one appointed by the Fifth to deal with ANBU who needed to get things off their chests. Kakashi had seen her a couple of times, but they'd both agreed that his coping method, by talking to since long dead teammates, while not exactly healthy, was actually working better for Kakashi than sitting in an hour long session where he said maybe three words at a time.

He wondered how Naruto was doing in his sessions. What was he talking about? Was he able to work through the shame and guilt he had to feel from killing an innocent civilian? Kakashi knew all too well what Naruto was dealing with, and Sasuke's increasingly aggressive advances wasn't helping him to come to terms with his new career choice. Kakashi gave a soft snort and rolled over from his back to his side, away from the sunlight.

It wasn't like he could beat Sasuke up either. Abilities aside, Sasuke was stronger and younger than him. Plus Naruto would kill him before Sasuke could try. Kakashi had never found himself in this kind of situation. Iruka's description of Kakashi's former relationships had been spot on. He didn't do them, simply as that. Until he found himself wanting one anyway, and was finding he was solely lacking in the experience department.

Not the sex bit; Kakashi had had a lot of sex during his teen and adult years. If he was going to be honest with himself, he'd almost had too much sex when he'd been younger. Everything had been a free for all; men, women, both, several at a time, Kakashi hadn't exactly been choosy with who he bedded, just as long as he could forget for a moment or two.

His eagerness to cheerfully bed anyone who asked had unfortunately given him something of a reputation of being a total flirt and a sex maniac who slept with anything that moved. Step right up folks and hop on the Copy-nin carousel, we accept rides all 'round the clock.

Snorting, Kakashi sat up, the sheets sliding down to pool around his waist. Better to let those kinds of thoughts go, before he ended up doubting his ability to make Naruto happy to the point where he backed off completely.

Only thing was, Kakashi wasn't so sure backing off was an option for him, not anymore. It was ironic, really, to have evaded and shunned anything having to do with emotions for over twenty years, only to fall flat on his face in no time at all for a man almost half his age, and his former student too.

Sighing and allowing his shoulders to droop tiredly, Kakashi raked a hand thought his unruly mass of hair. This morning – or day, as it were – was turning out more melancholic than he'd anticipated. And he hadn't even gotten out of bed yet. Turning to look out of the window, which allowed him a rather nice view over a part of Konoha's rooftops, Kakashi wasn't at all prepared for Naruto coming barging in through it.

But Kakashi wouldn't have been Kakashi if he'd shown any kind of shock; he just mustered the most unimpressed look he could, and slowly raised an eyebrow at Naruto, who was standing just inside his window, panting as if he'd run ten miles to get there.

"Good morning", Kakashi greeted calmly. Naruto's eyes were a shade darker than usual, and his face was grim. He looked like a bearer of bad news. Kakashi frowned. "You alright, Naruto?"

Naruto took a step forward, hands slowly coming up to take a hold on the zipper of his jounin jacket and starting to pull down.

Kakashi didn't dare move a muscle. "Naruto?"

But Naruto was silent; it was unsettling and got on Kakashi's nerves, because Naruto wasn't supposed to be silent. He was loud and brash and flamboyant at times, it wasn't natural for him, with his rebellious and fiery spirit to hold his tongue. Kakashi almost swallowed his own, when Naruto stared at him with his blue, blue eyes and undressed, like it was the most natural thing.

The jacket hit the floor, Naruto's black shirt and forehead protector tied around his arm came next. Kakashi was starting to sweat a little, at the sight of all that tanned skin slowly revealed to him. Corded muscled in arms, shoulders, chest and stomach contracted and relaxed with Naruto's movements, as he started working on his belt.

"I love you." Startled when Naruto finally spoke, Kakashi took a hold on the sheet at his waist, his fists balling in the fabric, to keep them from reaching for the tantalizing sight of Naruto, almost naked now, when he bent down to loosen the wraps around his calves and feet.

"Huh?" was Kakashi's eloquent reply. "Wait-what?"

"I have no idea if you've slept with anyone since we started this… thing", Naruto carried on, as if he hadn't heard Kakashi at all. "I have no idea if you feel the same for me or just want to screw me silly but I can't go around and pretend that you don't drive me crazy. I have no idea if you want my heart at all, but it's yours anyway. Because I don't care if you know, anymore. I just want to be with you."

Naruto stepped out of his pants and underwear, standing naked before Kakashi's burning gaze.

What was he supposed to say?

"If you think I'd wait almost four months to screw someone I wasn't in love with, you have another thing coming", Kakashi finally said hoarsely, after processing Naruto's words. He didn't recognize his own voice; it was low and scratchy and ached with everything he'd waited to have a chance to say.

Naruto's smile, when he caught the meaning in Kakashi's statement, was like nothing Kakashi had ever seen before. It was small and pleased, almost shy. Naruto closed the last distance between them and crawled up on the bed, not stopping before he was straddling Kakashi's legs.

"You want to now, then?"

"God… yes!" Kakashi groaned. He gripped Naruto around his waist and hauled him in, until their skin met and Kakashi could tilt his chin up and take Naruto's eager lips in a kiss that burned with everything they hadn't dared to speak a word of for too long. With this barrier between them torn down, all of the restraint Kakashi had exerted evaporated. Hungry for everything Naruto had to give him, Kakashi let his hands roam all over Naruto, his hands kneading and caressing every inch of Naruto's smooth skin.

Naruto cradled Kakashi's face in his hands, small, eager sounds spilling from him when their kiss intensified. They broke apart a moment later, panting, eyes closed and breathing each other in. Kakashi's chest felt like it was about to burst, his heart caught in a vice. It was suffocating and terrifying, loving another being this much. It filled him; all of the empty, aching holes in his heart and soul slowly filling with this all compassing feeling of love. He had no words to properly convey how he felt and a lump formed in his throat till the point where he almost choked around it.

"Naruto…" he whispered, wrecked and desperately. Naruto's hands around his cheeks flexed and the younger man shook his head.

"I know", Naruto choked out, voice barely audible. "I have no idea how I can love you this much… after so little time. I just-" he broke off to press another, desperate kiss against Kakashi's mouth. It was like he was afraid he'd never have another chance at this. "I just want to be with you so badly, Kakashi."

Shivering, Kakashi hugged Naruto closer. He wanted to get under Naruto's skin, to burrow so deep down into Naruto's very soul that Naruto could never be rid of him.

"I don't know how to be in a relationship, I've never even wanted to try." Naruto stiffened at his words, but Kakashi hurriedly clarified before Naruto could misunderstand. "But I want to try, with you."

Naruto made a small noise, somewhere between a relieved laugh and a sob, and they were kissing again. Easing down on the bed with Naruto stretched out on top of him, Kakashi had never felt so happy in his entire life. Everything he wanted was in his arms; was his to love and cherish and protect.

It was a frightening concept, caring about another to the point where he would easily eradicate himself, his friends and his village, to keep Naruto safe. It scared the living daylights out of Kakashi, to be honest. Duty and comrades fell away before his love for this young man, not even twenty and already too scarred and hurt by the world.

Kakashi vowed then, with Naruto held in his arms and their mouths pressed together in a heated liplock, that he would do everything in his power to make Naruto happy.

Shunting all other thoughts from his mind, Kakashi concentrated on Naruto, determined to give him all of himself, and erase any man or woman who had touched him before this. Kakashi decided that by the time they were finished, he would have branded his entire being onto Naruto's soul, so he could never forget.

Naruto was hard against Kakashi's stomach, his cock pressing insistently against him. Kakashi was equally hard, his cock throbbing in time with his hammering heart. Naruto broke their kiss to nip and suck at Kakashi's throat, and he arched his neck to accommodate Naruto, enjoying the way Naruto was leaving marks on his pale skin.

Naruto was mumbling between biting kisses, words of adornment and praise spilling from his lips in a steady, arousing stream. Kakashi closed his eyes and his hands roamed over Naruto's muscled back and ass, enjoying the feel of his silken skin under his fingertips. Naruto responded by moaning with his mouth against Kakashi's throat, working on what would become one hell of a hickey, and pushed his hips up into Kakashi's hands.

Kakashi took the hint to grab one buttock in each hand a squeeze. Naruto moaned again, louder this time, and released Kakashi's neck to pant hotly against the wet skin.

"I want you inside me, if you don't fuck me I'll go insane", Naruto whined when Kakashi let a finger slip down into his crack, gently tracing the tip over Naruto's hole.

"We'll get there", Kakashi murmured in Naruto's ear, giving the lobe a sharp, little nip.

"Not soon enough!"

"Shh", Kakashi soothed and pressed down with his finger, the tip barely breaching the twitching ring of muscles, making Naruto groan from deep in his chest and arch his back, pushing it a little bit deeper into his ass. Heat surged through Kakashi at the action, his cock jerked and leaked against his stomach, dampening the sheet still over the lower half of his body.

Rolling over and making Naruto yelp in surprise, Kakashi rid himself of the thin barrier. He didn't want anything between them. Naruto stared up at him with dazed eyes, the blue having turned dark and stormy with his arousal.

"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen", Kakashi husked and reached for the drawer in his nightstand, where he kept lube and condoms.

"I don't know", Naruto murmured as he tucked one hand behind his head and took a hold of his erection with the other, giving it a couple of lazy strokes. "I can't really complain from where I'm looking."

Smiling, Kakashi's fingers found the lube. Putting it on the pillow beside Naruto's head, he leaned down, bracketing himself with his arms on either side of Naruto's shoulders. He kissed Naruto again and again, a thin sheen of sweat forming on their bodied when Kakashi lowered himself, pressing down against Naruto, who's arms came up to caress and slide over Kakashi's body, wherever he could reach.

Kakashi had no idea how long they kissed, he could've gone on forever, but Naruto started to make impatient noises so he took the lube and popped the cap open, coating his right fingers generously. Moving back to give himself room to work, Kakashi put a finger back to Naruto's hole, keeping from penetrating just yet by tracing it around the tight ring, spreading the lube.

He almost stopped when Naruto wormed a hand between them and took a hold on Kakashi's cock, stroking it with maddening slow movement. Naruto toyed with the leaking head, spreading the precome pearling at the tip over his glans, and explored the thick vein running on the underside with curious fingers.

It was slowly driving him mad from arousal, but two could play that game, and Kakashi slid his teasing finger inside of Naruto's eagerly twitching ass. Naruto moaned and attacked Kakashi's collarbone with his mouth, trying to rock back against the digit sliding in and out of him.

At the brink of his patience, Kakashi didn't wait too long before he added another finger, trusting Naruto to tell him if it was too much. He didn't need to worry, as Naruto mewled with pleasure and pushed back, wanting more and not the least shy about it.

Complying, Kakashi was soon pumping three fingers into Naruto's ass, twisting and scissoring to stretch the tight passage to accommodate his not so inconsiderable length. And it really was tight; Kakashi could hardly imagine what it would feel like, squeezing around his dick, all slick and warm.

"Enough", Naruto panted, when Kakashi pressed up against his prostate. He was too close just from Kakashi's fingers going in and out of his ass. "I wanna come on your cock."

Kakashi sucked in a breath as heat speared through him, and his cock leaked even more precome. Kakashi wasn't that much of a talker usually, but he loved dirty talk and he now used this to make Naruto a needy, writhing mess, filthy words pouring from his mouth in a steady stream.

"Yeah? I'm going to fuck you until you don't even know your name, until you scream and come all over yourself, and I'm gonna fuck you right through it, gonna pound your tight little ass and you're gonna lie there and just take it."

Naruto nodded willingly, a drunken and dazed look on his face. "Yeah, let's do that."

Straightening, Kakashi reached for a condom and rolled it on with practiced ease. He draped Naruto's legs around his waist and lined his cock up, slowly rubbing the head against Naruto's hole; gaping and shiny from Kakashi's attentions and just waiting for him to sink into it.

"After", Kakashi followed up, "I'm gonna turn you on your hands and knees and really give it to you, fuck you hard again and jerk you off till you come again." He pushed forward just a bit, watching the head of his cock slide just inside of Naruto's ass, the tight ring clutching around his glans. Kakashi had to fight with himself not to just pound into Naruto like a madman.

He didn't take his eyes off of Naruto's face, searching for any signs of pain. It would kill him, Kakashi was sure of that, but he would stop if Naruto said the word. But Naruto just arched his neck and clawed at the sheets, his hips twisting, as he fought to get more of Kakashi's dick inside.

"Yes yes, that", Naruto almost howled, "and stop teasing me, for fuck's sake!"

Kakashi couldn't wait any longer. He started rocking his hips, nudging his cock deeper with every thrust, making them both pant and moan out half-formed curses.

"Oh my god, you feel so good", Naruto whined, "I've never felt so full."

"If you can talk I can't be doing it right", Kakashi mused out loud and pulled back only to slam back inside, harder and faster than the initial penetration. Naruto moaned, long and deep. "Yes!"

Naruto let go of the sheets and grasped Kakashi's forearms, his nails digging into the pale skin there, hard enough to form bruises. Kakashi's didn't mind, his own grip on Naruto's legs would leave just as many marks. He slammed into Naruto, over and over again and sweat beaded on his forehead and Naruto was an incoherent, babbling mess, but he didn't let up.

Instead he upped the pace, giving himself over to the need burning in his loins. Naruto was almost hyperventilating at that point, breathing harshly between clenched teeth, his nails raking down Kakashi's arms, leaving red welts in their wake.

Kakashi kept up a steady stream of dirty praise, narrating how Naruto looked, how hot and tight he felt around Kakashi's cock, how he wanted to fuck him through the fucking mattress. A half-formed thought about the open window wormed its way into Kakashi's lust-addled brain; he smirked and hoped he wouldn't get too judging looks from his neighbors later.

But he did tell Naruto. "Think they're listening as I fuck you? Maybe they're getting all hot hearing you moaning for more and faster and harder?"

The sexy blush from their rough fucking already glowing on Naruto's scarred cheeks deepened, but his ass clenched around Kakashi's cock. "Oh, you like that thought?" Kakashi growled, pleased. "You get off on people hearing me fucking your brains out?"

Coherence had apparently left Naruto completely, but he managed a nod and groaned when Kakashi narrowed in on his prostate, nailing it with every thrust. "Well then", Kakashi panted as he doubled his efforts, "let's give them something to listen to."

Naruto looked totally debauched, his hair matted and lying slicked against his forehead. He was glistening, the sweat coating his skin making it glow in the sunlight bathing them. Kakashi's bedroom was filled with the sounds from their fucking, skin smacking against skin, the soft, wet noise of Kakashi's cock sliding in and out of Naruto's ass. It was almost too much for him, but Kakashi had promised to make Naruto come twice and he would die trying.

Naruto was reduced to moans and whimpers at that point, his grip on Kakashi's arms loosened and they fell to the mattress uselessly though his legs tightened around Kakashi's waist. He could only take what Kakashi gave him, which was everything. His orgasm was so sudden it took Kakashi by surprise, he had no chance to hold back his own, but he did fuck Naruto as thick ropes of come spurted over his stomach and chest, Naruto's howl of pleasure loud enough to wake the dead.

Kakashi's own growl as he came was almost drowned out, but he kept up his pace, until Naruto's pleasured cries became laced with pain. Stopping and trying to catch his breath, Kakashi drank in the sight of Naruto, sweaty and shaking beneath him.

Kakashi bowed down and pressed a tender kiss to Naruto's mouth, smiling gently when Naruto opened his eyes and stared vacantly at him. Gently unwinding Naruto's legs from their death grip around his waist, Kakashi slowly pulled out, pulling off the condom and tying it before he flung it in the wastebasket on the other side of the room.

"I thought you said you'd fuck me from behind too", Naruto muttered and let his eyes flutter closed.

Chuckling, Kakashi lay down beside the younger man, arranging them until Naruto's head was on Kakashi's shoulder. Not caring about the mess on Naruto's front, he pulled Naruto closer so he could bury his nose in his golden hair.

"It was my intention but, well… shit happens."

Exhausted and thoroughly satisfied Naruto cracked one eye open and peered up at Kakashi. "I hope you'll make good on that promise sometime. And I hope I'll never run into one of your neighbors."

"Promise of a lifetime", Kakashi offered solemnly. "And I wouldn't worry about them."

"Easy for you to say, you're not even bothered", Naruto grumbled sleepily.

"I'm way too old to give a flying fuck", Kakashi agreed cheerfully. "Now sleep, I'll wake you up later."

"Okay." Naruto wiggled until he was comfortable, feeling content and safe as he let Kakashi's encompassing presence lull him to sleep.

tbc...

A/N: So yeah, that happened. This chapter just kinda happened, at least the later part. I only knew one thing, and that was Naruto crashing Kakashi's place and telling him "I love you." That's it. The rest of it I just flew by the seat of my pants. I've actually written more in the last month than I have in the last year, so it's looking up for Cover. I won't make any promises or set any kind of deadline, that's just stressful. So until the next chapter, do share your thoughts on this one with me :)