Rocking the Cradle- Complete

Rocking the Cradle

All recovered stories will be re-posted "AS IS" -no alterations made since the first time they were posted. Multiple chapter stories will also be compiled into one post for sake of ease.

Summary: Sasuke, a college student studying abroad and in his third-year of Harvard, suddenly goes broke as his parents’ decide to withdraw his monthly allowance and the banks cut his access. Caught in a tough situation, Sasuke must learn the meaning of manual labour, unfortunately there aren’t many career choices for the stoic teen stranded in America. And it seems a small blonde is going to just give him more troubles......

Warning: Contains shotacon

Rating: M

Ages:

Sasuke- 19

Naruto- 8

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“Dammit.”

Sasuke growled as he read the words splayed out on the black screen, his hand pounding on the ‘Cancel’ button over and over again. “This is not what I need,” he murmured, his dark aura sweeping through the bank and terrifying all nearby strangers. With one final press, the ATM registered a ‘beep’ sound, before a mechanical whirring reverberated through the thing.

“Dammit, no, No, NO!!” The raven smacked the machine as it ate his bank card, another message flashing up in green. ‘Your card has been terminated. Please see the desk if you have any questions. Have a good day!’ Sasuke gritted his teeth, before marching out of the bank. Like hell he would go to the desk, he’d probably rip the women’s head off.

Quietly he stormed out of the CitiBank, already pulling his Motorola razor out of his black slacks. He flipped the black cell open, speed-dialing his brother. The tone was silent before it finally began ringing, Sasuke boarding the closest bus heading back to his apartment as he waited. One ring, two, three....just when Sasuke thought the answering machine was about to pick up, someone actually answered on the other line. “Hello?.....” Sasuke fumed at the sound of his brother’s haughty tone, but bit back his anger.

“A-aniki.....Are mother and father busy?”

Sasuke cringed as his brother replied. “If you’re wondering why your card has just been eaten and why you can’t get access to your account.....well, I can’t say why but those two are too busy at the moment to chat.”

Sasuke could hear the underlying humor in the older sibling’s voice, and it wasn’t helping his mood any. The raven ground his teeth, catching his balance as the bus came to another hazardous halt and let another passenger on. What the hell was up with the world today? “Nii-san......I know you’re not telling me everything you know. Why don’t you just tell me what is going on?” Sasuke could practically hear the smirk in his brother’s voice over the static. “Would you just tell me, you self-absorbed bastard!!”

Sasuke listened patiently as his brother slowly -oh so excruciatingly slowly- told him what had come about. Hearing the news, Sasuke felt himself freeze, his mouth went dry. A cold sweat formed on his brow, and it felt like all time had stopped. He swallowed hard and went to answer his aniki. “What do you mean they cancelled my funds!!” Sasuke had meant for that to come out normally but he had ended up shouting it at the top of his lungs, he had fallen out of character because of panic. Now people on the bus were eyeing him strangely.

“It means just like I say. Mother and Father have decided it’s time you....leave the roost........ and have cancelled all your accounts and have withdrawn any other funds they were sending. You’re on your own, otouto-kun.”

Sasuke wanted to scream, Sasuke wanted to stomp his feet, Sasuke wanted to pull out his hair. But he was an Uchiha, and Uchihas didn’t behave like that. Itachi hung up on him, leaving him to listen to the dial-tone before he finally came out of his stupor and hung up. Sasuke pulled the rope, and got off at his stop, staring up at his small apartment.

Realization dawned on him, like waking up to a horrible day. He was stranded in America with no money and no way to get any. God hated him.

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Office sounds surrounded him, already boring into his skull like a jack hammer, as sasuke shifted around in his seat. Why the hell were the seats this hard anyways? Did they purposefully make it this way as metaphorical punishment at the fact that anyone who had to come here should feel the full weight of their decision to do nothing with their life? Well, Sasuke didn’t need that sort of punishment, he was doing plenty with his life. He was attending Harvard, he had come all the way from Japan, and he was only a few years short of getting his Master’s. All this so he could become a lawyer, and make his parents’ proud. Yes, he was a sucker for attention......well, actually more like appreciation. He mentally sighed at his own pitiful state, as Sasuke was sure noone else would. They were all just jealous of his good looks, grades and money.

The women that was at the moment attending him at the Employment Agency bit the end of her pencil and looked up at him. She glanced down at her computer, did a couple more taps and clicks before resigning with a sigh. “Well Mr. Uchiha......”, She paused and finally met his gaze. “It seems there aren’t any jobs at the moment that can work around your schedule and not any with the pay-rate that you want.”

This was not what he wanted to hear. The women scratched her short black hair, turning her gaze down, bringing it up again after another minute. “With your current situation it would probably be better to just drop your courses, and take a full-time job. At least then you can pay for food and rent.” The women caught the raven’s glare and cringed. “Look, I’m sorry sir. But there just aren’t any other options, especially with the fact that you’ve just recently immigrated.......the best I can do for you is either finding you a position in the Taxi industry or Nanny.”

Sasuke closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. In, out, in, out. That’s right, he didn’t want to kill this stupid women who insisted on either making him some slummy taxi-driver or some baby’s wet nurse. Indeed not. Sasuke opened his eyes again and continued to glare at the women. But he knew she was right. His tuition alone was outrageous (but he was rich, what should that matter?) and the cost of rent and food along with school equipment was expensive. Without his parents’ support -which ultimately meant money- he was in too deep a hole. It was best to cut his losses and just work full-time, seeing as meager wage would barely even cover the cost of his apartment.

“What’s happening in the nanny business?,” he asked, feeling sick to his stomach. The women froze, truly surprised, before returning to her computer.

“Uh...umm...well, there’s nothing really here. You can’t work in a large children environment or in a nursing home as you don’t have all the proper papers. Umm.....there’s nothing here....”Sasuke nearly groaned at that. He was gonna be stuck at a taxi driver!! “But.....,” a but never sounded sweeter to Sasuke. “I have a friend who needs someone to take care of his son while he’s away on business. If I remember correctly he’s leaving for a trip soon. Will that be ok?”

Saske controlled himself from getting up and shouting ‘YES!’. He had a job, he wouldn’t be some homeless bum stuck in a country not his own! Instead he answered with a cool, excitement-free “Yes, that should suffice.”

The women smiled and handed him the paperwork. She gave him a pen and told him to fill everything out. He did so quickly, handing the files back to her right after. He continued to sit, uncomfortable in his hard chair, as she copied everything over into the database. When she was finished that, she picked up her phone and dialed in a number. Sasuke quirked an eyebrow, wondering what the hell she was up to. He glanced around the room, watching the other jobless slackers he had the misfortune of being mixed in with, before he heard his attendant’s phone being set back down.

“Ok, Mr. Uchiha. Everything’s set now, all you have to do is go to this address tomorrow morning.” Here she handed him a sticky-note. “The directions are there and the time. Your employer will tell you all the details. Have a good day!” Sasuke cursed that greeting, before stalking out of the agency and back to his apartment. Later on he would need to call the University and tell them that he would have to drop his courses.......it was something he was not looking forward too.

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Arashi stuck a few more shirts into his suitcase before closing the lid and zipping it shut. A small knock peeked his attention as his son Naruto rapped his open door before entering. “Dad.....why do you have to go?,” Naruto asked, sitting on his dad’s bed.

Arashi sighed before ruffling Naruto’s hair. “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times. I have to go Naruto, it’s part of my job. It may not seem like it but these business trips are important.” Naruto just huffed and squeezed Gama-chan tighter. Ever since he could remember his dad had always been taking off for weeks or months at a time on these business trips. The boy knew his dad tried his best to stay but when you’re an international journalist you have to leave to get some news or else there would be no income. This time Naruto sighed and got off the bed, helping his dad bring his stuff downstairs. “When will you be back?,” the blonde asked. Arashi smiled sadly and patted Naruto’s shoulder. “I’ll be gone for half a year at the longest. There’s some major news happening in Iraq at the moment and they really need some writers to get the scoop. I’ll try to be back as soon as possible.” Naruto nodded his head, but it wasn’t for how long his dad would be gone that he was dreading, it was that something terrible might happen to him. “Promise me you’ll be ok,” the child said. His dad smiled, brighter this time, before kissing his son’s forehead. “Of course.”

The doorbell rang, surprising both blondes. Arashi got to his feet and opened the door, revealing a stoic raven propped to ring the doorbell again. “Oh, you must be the nanny.” Naruto giggled at the sight of this guy being a Nanny, as his dad led the stranger inside. The dark-haired man seemed to glare at him from the corner of his eye as he did. In return Naruto stuck his tongue out. Arashi seated his guest in their living room, sitting down from across him. “So Mr. Uchiha. I heard from Shizune that you were a good choice for the job. Is that true?” Sasuke looked at the man seated before him, before placing on a small, charming smile. “Yes, that’s true.” Arashi nodded his head. “Ok. Now tell me this: can you cook? Are you able to clean, do the laundry, help my son with his homework?” Still keeping on his smile, Sasuke answered. “Yes, sir. I can do all those things, homework especially.” The blonde man cracked a small smile. “Arashi is fine, and that’s good to hear. Those math problems can be quite tricky.” Inside his head, Sasuke was wondering what kind of idiot wouldn’t be able to do grade-level math and what kind of idiot is offspring would be like. His attention was quickly regained as Arashi asked him another question. “Now, this is very important Mr. Uchiha, and is of the utmost of importance. Do you find my son in any way attractive?” Sasuke was surprised to say, but looked over at the scraggly blond in the corner before frowning and returning his gaze to Arashi. “No,” he answered indignantly.

Arashi scratched the back of his head, chuckling quietly. “Good, ‘cause if you said yes I’d have to call the cops on your pedophiliac ass.” Sasuke began to wonder if maybe he was wrong in taking a job offered by a man such as Arashi. But before he could reflect on it any further, the blonde man had gotten to his feet and had taken his hand. “Well, you pass my inspection. I should be back in maybe a half-year’s time. Until then take good care of my son, Mr. Uchiha. Naruto you show him where everything is. I’ve gotta go catch my flight.” With that Arashi disappeared out the door, bags in tow, diving into an awaiting cab and off down the street. Sasuke, in a state of shock, closed the door and silently smiled to himself. He had successfully lied to a man about knowing anything about cooking and cleaning and hadn’t been caught. He turned around to go find the little blonde brat to begin this nightmare, but instead found the boy standing right behind him. “Why hello, Naruto,” Sasuke said, obviously straining to keep from vomiting at his sweet tone. Naruto continued to stand there, a blank expression on his face, before he finally opened his mouth. “You’re a terrible liar.” The boy turned away and strode up the stairs, not looking back once. Sasuke though was at the moment panicking. How had the kid known?

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Naruto closed his bedroom door and plopped on his bed. During that whole little interview he had known that his nanny had been lying. There was no way that someone that good-looking could actually have done any of those things. At least not for someone other than their pampered self. And how did Naruto know this? Because he was eight, that’s why, and he knew everything. Naruto sighed at his own dad’s cluelessness and only hoped that his old man wouldn’t get killed for it. But for the meantime he would deal with his pompous nanny, because after all........Sasuke was quite handsome.

Chapter 2

Sasuke Uchiha hated eggs. Correction: he hated cooking eggs or anything else for that matter. Frustrated, he tossed the black spatula into the sink, slamming the frying pan onto the counter. “Hey, don't go breaking my dad's things!” Sasuke turned around, and frowned at the tanned shrimp still dressed in his Spongebob pj’s. “I'm not breaking anything,” the raven ground out. Naruto just gave him a disbelieving look, before taking a seat at the table. His blue eyes spotted the frying pan and its charcoaled contents before returning to Sasuke. “You weren't planning on feeding me that were you?” Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the kid's tone before replying. “Do you have any better ideas?” Naruto smiled brightly before getting to his feet and walking over to the cupboard. “Thank god for cereal”, the blonde stated, taking out a box of Captain Crunch. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead set himself to the task of removing the blackened mess of eggs out of the pan. “Dobe,” he muttered under his breath. Naruto obviously heard because he replied with a “Teme”. Again Sasuke gritted his teeth. Two weeks in and he had already found out just how intelligent this brat really was, and just how much he hated to deal with a scheming blonde.

First day of cooking and cleaning had been a horrible disaster and was liable for a cursing Sasuke. Naruto, though intelligent for his age, was still eight and had taken an immediate attachment to Sasuke's use of vocabulary. When Sasuke had told the brat that he wasn't to swear, the kid had asked 'why not?' To which Sasuke had replied, 'because I said so' and was rewarded with a “fuck off!!” So changing tactics, Sasuke moved to cursing or saying anything in japanese, but the kid was persistent and had set himself to the task of figuring out what the most over-used words in Sasuke's speech meant. Which led to the kid speaking to him in japanese cuss words. Yes, Sasuke truly was a genius. Sasuke was only glad that the brat had school and that none of the teachers had a clue as to what the blonde was saying. “Hey sasuke?” The kid's voice brought the raven out of his thoughts and back to the present situation. “Can I stay home today?” Sasuke answered quickly, “No”. There was sputtering behind him, followed by a quick whine. “Why not?” “ Because I said so”. Naruto pouted at that, Sasuke knew that with out looking. “Well, too bad. I’m not going and you can't make me!!” The chair screeched across the floor as the boy bolted out of the room, stomping up the steps and for the finale, slamming his bedroom door. Sasuke sighed, and proceeded to bang his head on the counter. 'God, what did I do to deserve this?'

Deciding he didn't want to deal with upset little boys at 7:30, Sasuke settled for tossing the hopeless pan into the sink while taking a cup of coffee and the morning newspaper for a small trip to the town of relaxation. At 5 to 8, Sasuke set his cup down and with dread stepped toward the stairs. "Dobe”, he called up the stairs. “Come on, your bus will be here soon”. No answer came. Sasuke ran a hand through his black hair, before ascending up the steps. He opened the boy's bedroom door, to find the blonde curled up on his bed with his frog plushie. The blonde boy frowned at him upon entering, before turning his face away. “What do you want?”, the boy mumbled. Sasuke leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “You have to go to school dobe. You're father expects it”. Naruto only glared at him from the corner of his eye, mumbling something that Sasuke couldn't hear. This brought a frown to the raven's face. “Dobe, what are you mumbling about?” The boy ignored him, staring off into the distance. Sasuke forced down an upcoming sigh, moving to the blonde's dresser. He opened the shelves, looking at the bundles of clothing before picking out a pair of shorts and a black t-shirt. He tossed them onto the bed, a pair of socks and kid boxers following. “Put them on. You've got 2 minutes to get dressed and get downstairs. If you're not ready by then, I’ll dress you myself.” The boy blushed at the threat, but Sasuke paid little heed to it and hurried downstairs.

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Naruto was confused. Yes, he was very confused and upset and worried but more than anything he was confused. Sasuke's threat.....it made his stomach flop around and made his cheeks burn but he found he didn't mind so much if Sasuke was to dress him. He wondered what that feeling could possibly mean. Putting that aside, he dressed quickly and hurried downstairs. Sasuke was waiting for him at the door, his Teen Titans backpack in the raven's hands. “Finally dressed I see?” Naruto stuck his tongue out at the man's teasing tone, taking his backpack and slinging it over his shoulders. Sasuke opened the door as the blonde slipped his shoes on, then bolted outside. “Bye Sasuke-teme!!” Naruto called back as he hurried down the block, smiling as the stoic male glared at him, before closing the door. Slowing down, his blue eyes gazed at his closed front door for a few moments longer, before he turned on his heel and hurried in the other direction. Like he said earlier, there was no way he was going to school and Sasuke couldn't make him.

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Sasuke sat himself down on the couch, another cup of coffee in his hands, and made a grab for the televison remote. He turned the large screen t.v on and turned on the news, watching the flashing images distantly. His thoughts faded away to the house, and the small blonde that had become his charge. The house was of a nice size, and placed in a nice neighborhood with plenty of average items around the home. But it seemed that the boy was.....to say, uncaring. Naruto didn't seem to have any care for these items. That confused him somewhat as Sasuke had thought that all boys cared for their material things. Unfortunately trying to figure out the complex fox boy was doing nothing but giving the Uchiha a migraine so he abandoned all thoughts of the child. He had duties to perform but he would do them later. Besides his cleaning wouldn't make much of a difference in the end.

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Naruto logged onto the net, swinging his feet around underneath the table. The library computer hummed for a minute before opening up the web page. Yes, Naruto was at a library. He loved the public library, it was such a big building and had been around since 1916, the old feeling giving the blonde a kind of quiet peace. On days when he didn't want to go to school, his father would take him here and let the boy loose for a while. At least, that only happened when his father wasn't off working on another project. Over the years though, his dad had been getting more projects and had been leaving him more and more. His trips to the library had dwindled; this was the first time in almost a year Naruto had been here. His small fingers quickly darted over the keyboard, making gentle click-clack sounds. Naruto was confused about earlier, and now, being here in a comfortable environment he was able to think about the situation. Naruto was smart, intelligent even. He didn't do well with math problems, and he hated science but if he there was something in his life that he didn't understand he could solve it with a little time.

His dad knew of this little talent and thought of it quite useful. He was very supportive of Naruto.....but not as much as he thought he was. Naruto pushed the overwhelming wave of sadness away. He didn't need those types of feelings at the moment; he had a larger one to deal with right now. Naruto searched for the key terms Butterflies and stomach and burning cheeks, his blue eyes widening with surprise at the result turnout. He spent a good 10 minutes going through a whole bunch of pages, all talking about his strange occurrences as symptoms, but not talking about what for. The blonde was getting annoyed by his fruitless search but for good measure decided to check out the last link on the page. A red and pink web page opened up, the word love written in large blue letters across the screen. Naruto raised an eyebrow in confused amusement. “What does love have anything to do with my symptoms?”

Naruto scrolled through the website, reading through the paragraphs. Slowly his cheeks turned a slight pink as realization dawned on him. “N-no way...” Naruto furrowed his brow and continued to read the paragraph. There was no way he was in love with his nanny. Just not possible!! First of all he knew love was like some magical thing that happened between a man and a woman, secondly he knew that only adults could fall in love. So he couldn't possibly be in love with Sasuke. But everything the web page said.....it was all very true and even he knew that though he was a child he was clearly feeling love. The last paragraph on the page caught his attention, and he scanned it over.

Though all of these things are common signs of love, beware! Sometimes the feelings are nothing more than signs of a crush and will pass in due time. Be careful of what you feel for a good-looking person will always attract you, but you may not actually be in love with them. As well, love or crushes are not bound by age or gender. These feelings are prone to happen whether toward someone older or younger than yourself or someone either of the opposite sex or the same. In the end, the feelings are all similar.

Naruto stared surprised at the final paragraph, but it did make sense to him. He was still young so many things were still above him but at least he understood what he was feeling. Whether it be love or a crush, he was indubitably attracted to his nanny. Picturing the dark-haired man caused his cheeks to redden more and for something to stir within him. Naruto again brought up the search engine and began a key term search for the word puberty, which he had seen earlier. This resulted in another round about of reading and in another half an hour, a basic understanding. So now Naruto knew what he was feeling and he knew that it was somewhat unlikely that he should be feeling that way considering his age. It was common for the girls to have crushes, which led wonderful insight as to why most of the girls in his class acted all strange over some of the more popular boys, because girls hit this stage of puberty faster. Sighing, Naruto leaned back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling.

This whole search had given him some valuable information yes, but now he was confused as to why he was experiencing such things ahead of time. Time made him think of his father, which led him to remember when Sasuke came for his interview. The word his father had used.....it didn't make sense to him. Naruto sat back up and again attacked the keyboard, this time trying to enter the word pedophile. He wasn't sure how it was spelled but tried his best to sound it out anyway. Luckily he got it right, and quickly picked a link. It led him to a police web page, a paragraph description of a pedophile the first thing on the page. The blue-eyed boy read through the sentence and found himself frowning. 'So that's what a pedophile is.....', he thought solemnly, with a hint of sorrow. That meant that even if Naruto liked Sasuke....maybe a lot.....that it wouldn't be allowed. Naruto logged off the computer and picked up his bag. He wanted to go home, he wanted Sasuke to disappear and for his father to be back at the house waiting for him.......but wishing never did much for him. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked toward the staircase leading upstairs. He was in the mood for a good read and he knew exactly what he wanted.

How could life had gotten so complicated for him?

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Sasuke handed the guy his money and told the man to keep the change. He took the pizza box, shut the door and walked back to the living room. He set the box down and immediately Naruto dove for the pizza, grabbing three slices before returning to his seat. “Take a plate, dobe”, the Uchiha growled, pushing a plate at the eating blonde. The boy glared but took the plate anyway, before fixing his gaze on the t.v. Sasuke grudgingly sat down and grabbed a slice, mechanically eating it. Spongebob....there was too much of that fucking yellow box around, Sasuke noted. The raven settled himself into the couch, already tired of the day. He turned to the small boy who was enraptured by the screen. Obsidian eyes glanced at the clock, before returning to the boy. “Hurry up and eat. It’s past your bedtime.” Naruto looked up at the man, then glanced to the clock. “Ah, can't I stay up longer?” Sasuke glared and for some odd reason, the boy blushed before looking away. “O-ok, I’ll go.” The dark-haired male was surprised to say the least, but if it meant that the child would actually listen then he wasn't about to complain.

Five minutes later, the boy had finished up and quickly bolted upstairs, leaving Sasuke to clean up and turn off all the lights. In the bathroom, Naruto was gazing at his reflection as he brushed his teeth. There was still a blush and as he remembered the source of his pink tinge, he blushed more. When those black eyes had fallen on him, his stomach had done flips and the look of annoyance and exasperation had only doubled the effect. Naruto wondered what would happen if the raven smiled. 'Nahh!! I shouldn't think like that! I’m eight for god's sake!!' Naruto spit, rinsed and threw his toothbrush into the cabinet before exiting the bathroom. Oh, how he wished his dad would come home. The sooner the better, that way he could get Sasuke out of his life and be done with this problem. Waiting for him at the steps was Sasuke. “Finally finished dobe?” Naruto glared for measure but he knew he didn't really put a lot of effort into it.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but Naruto ignored him. The boy went to his room and got into bed. He could hear Sasuke in the hallway, making his way to the bathroom. The shower was turned on, and Naruto could hear his nanny entering the down spray. Sasuke was staying in the room down the hall, the office that had been turned into a guest room a few years back. The office had been his mother's, before she died, and when she passed away his dad had decided he couldn't deal with the memories. So the room was turned into a guest room, Sasuke being its first occupant. The shower was turned off, and Naruto waited until he heard the raven leave the room before he sat up in bed. “Sasuke!! Sasuke!” His door was opened as the older man stood in his door way. “What now, dobe?” Naruto fought down a blush. Sasuke's hair was still damp and clung to his forehead a little. His nanny was dressed in a pair of navy pajama pants, no shirt. Naruto felt his heart swoon as he gazed at this half-naked Sasuke, but quickly fought the feeling off and stuck his chin out. “Tuck me in.” Sasuke snorted and a smirk adorned his face. “Tuck yourself in dobe. Now sleep.” Naruto felt like he was going to melt under that smirk, it was so close to a smile. “B-but dad tucked me in at night!! If you don't, then I’m not going to listen to a word you say ever again!”

It didn't seem to work at first, but with a sigh Sasuke made his way to the young boy's bed. “Fine dobe”, the stoic man said. Naruto laid down as Sasuke tucked him in, his heart thumping loudly in his ears at the older male's close proximity. Sasuke straightened up and moved to the door, when the kid's voice stopped him. “Hey, Sasuke?” The raven closed his eyes, opening them again a moment later. “What now, dobe?” Sasuke looked over his shoulder at the boy wrapped up in his orange comforter. “I just wanted to say goodnight.” Sasuke once again today was surprised and couldn't help but smirk. “'Night dobe’, he said, turning off the light. Finally he made his way to his room, and settled into bed.

Chapter 3

1Blonde hair, and beautiful tan skin haunted his dreams. Even upon waking he could still remember the lips that lightly touched his. Sasuke rubbed at his eyes, and got up from his bed. This wasn't what he needed, but obviously taking care of a kid and not being able to attend his classes wasn't punishment enough. Now his hormones decided to throw in their support four weeks into his job. Sasuke growled lightly and grabbed a change of clothes, changing quickly and making his way downstairs. He was shocked to find the small blonde already awake, and breakfast set on the kitchen table. Naruto turned around upon hearing the raven enter, and smiled up at the man. “G'morning!” Sasuke just ran his eyes over the child, and took a seat at the table. “So, what do you think?” Naruto looked at him expectantly, placing a cup of coffee in front of him. Sasuke had to agree, this wasn't a bad spread. “Did you actually cook this?” Sasuke eyeballed the over-easy eggs and lightly toasted, buttered toast. Naruto looked at him blankly. “If I say yes, are you going to chew me out for using the stove all by myself?” Sasuke smirked and forked a bit of the egg. “If I get food poisoning, I just might.” The raven chewed, then swallowed his egg before turning to the blonde. “This is actually good,” he said shocked. Naruto grinned idiotically. “Glad you like it. Hurry up, I got school to go to.”

Sasuke finished a good breakfast, still amazed at an eight-year old's culinary skills, and made to go get the kid ready for school. Instead he found Naruto already tying his shoes, clean clothes on and school bag at his feet. “I’m surprised dobe. You got up earlier than me, made breakfast and are already ready for school.” Naruto only smiled, his blue eyes crinkling in amusement. 'If only that teme knew the reasons of my recent actions.' “'K, I’m gonna go now. Why don't ya try doing some actually work? My dad would like to come to a clean house.” Sasuke snorted and opened the door. “Alright dobe, enough with the attitude. Get off to your bus stop.” Naruto stepped outside the door, but stopped. He spun around and faced Sasuke. “Hey Sasuke?” The man cocked his head at the blonde, raising an eyebrow as the young boy gestured for him to come closer. Sasuke leaned down, his face almost inches from the child's, intent on asking what his charge wanted now. But he was unable to even get his question out before warm lips were pressed to his own suddenly, and taken away just as quickly. “Bye-bye, Sasuke-teme!!,” Naruto called as he ran off. “See you after school!”

Sasuke stared after the running boy, his eyes wide and his mouth agape, before getting to his feet again. He closed the door and rested himself against it. He gently touched his lips, and felt a slight blush come to his cheeks. 'N-no...no, no, NO!! God, what is wrong with me!! He's a fucking kid! I didn't like it, I didn't like it!!' Sasuke grabbed his head and knocked it against the wall hard. “Fuck this!! I’m gonna do some cleaning!!” The raven stomped off down the hallway, pulling out a load of cleaners. Hopefully he would inhale the fumes too much and clear the thoughts right out of his head. But he couldn't shake how familiar that kiss was to the one in his dreams.

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Naruto couldn't help but to smile to himself as he rushed to catch his bus. Seeing Sasuke’s shocked expression and to be able to kiss him, was so nice. He felt all giddy inside and his happiness was only fueled by the fact that summer was nearly here. One more week of school and Naruto was free!! And that meant that he could spend his entire days with Sasuke for a whole two months. Naruto crashed into a seat and spread out, grinning maniacally. His blue eyes watched the scenery has it flashed past, changing over as soon as he heard a familiar sound. “Kiba!” Naruto scooched over and let his spiky brunette friend sit down beside him. “Hey fox boy! I missed you all week. Stupid colds....so how come you weren't at school last week?” Naruto flushed embarrassedly, scratching the back of his head. “Yeah...I wasn't feeling well.” “Then why didn't your dad call you in?,” Kiba asked, fishing a beef sandwich out of his bag. Naruto sighed. “What? You mean your dad's gone again?!” Kiba stared at him shocked, before he shook his head. “Man, that sucks.” Kiba was the only other person, other than their teacher, Iruka-sensei, who knew about his dad's constant business trips. Best friends since preschool, Naruto didn't know what he would do without his dog-loving friend.

“Well, anyway Iruka called tried to call but no one was answering, so he called the bat's place. So I guess you're chilling at her place for now, huh?” Naruto's eyes widened, and his flesh paled considerably. Kiba gazed at his friend worriedly. “Naruto, you are staying with her right?” His best friend looked worriedly at him, and his worry only grew when Naruto shook his head. “Dude, what do you mean you're not staying with her?! You're not living all by herself in your house are you?!,” kiba hissed. Naruto finally regained some color in his cheeks. “You baka, of course I’m not. I’ve gotta nanny, but if my aunt got that message I can tell you she'll be stopping by this evening. Man she'll try to scare Sasuke away, then I’ll be stuck with her for 5 months!!” Kiba was stunned for a moment, but got excited really quickly. “You've got a nanny!! Awesome, what's she look like?” Naruto chuckled and grinned at his friend's confused face. “Sasuke wouldn't appreciate you calling him a girl. And if you're thinking of trying to crash at my place, forget it. Sasuke's super strict and he doesn't really like other people.” Kiba whined pitifully and sunk into his seat. “Man, and here I was hoping I could get out of my house for the summer.” “Baka,” Naruto giggled. Kiba eyed his friend. “What are you saying anyways?,” he questioned. “It's japanese,” Naruto grinned. “Its Sasuke’s home language.” Kiba grinned too. “Awesome!!” Too soon, the bus pulled into the school's parking lot.

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This wasn't happening. This big-busted, crabby blonde wasn't here on the doorstep, demanding entrance and glaring at him. Glaring back wasn't doing anything either, but it helped him either way. His patience wearing dangerously thin, he opened the door and stood aside. The women didn't even thank him, just walked on by and sat down in the living room. 'Stupid bitch,' Sasuke thought as he shut the door behind him. “Where's Naruto?,” said the women. Sasuke narrowed his eyes further. Did this women think he did something to Naruto? “He's at school,” the Uchiha replied. The women fixed him with her cold glare before getting to her feet. She strode purposefully through the house, going into rooms and sifting through stuff. Sasuke felt a vein throb above his temple, and he ground his teeth in an attempt to silence himself. He had just cleaned this whole place, and it was the best damn job he'd ever done if he said so himself. And here this woman was just making a mess of things! Sasuke glanced at the clock in the kitchen wall, where the blonde women had gone to next, reading it's numbered face. It was 2:50, Naruto would be home in a while and he had to get this women out of here before then.

The crude women left the kitchen quickly, storming up the stairs, and onto the second landing. She shuffled through different rooms, Sasuke not even bothering any more to follow her. Best just to sit tight; he had a feeling that she would be coming downstairs anytime soon now. “Dammit!!” The women's voice filled the entire house as she stomped back down the stairs and into the kitchen to find a waiting Sasuke. “You fucking asshole, “she growled, making an attempt to grab at him. Sasuke quickly dodged the women's hands and ran to the other side of the kitchen table. “What the hell are you talking about?!” The women's eyes flashed with anger as she approached the raven. “I swear to fucking god, if you've done anything to that boy, I’ll rip your fucking cock off and fuck you with that then shove it down your fucking throat!!” Sasuke could only stare at this woman. She had just threatened him in the most crudest way, but the most shocking thing is that she thought he was a fucking pedophile too! Sasuke found himself growling now, his rage uncontrollable. “You know fucking what! I didn't do anything to that fucking brat, ok?! I don't know who the hell you are but if you don't fucking leave I'll-“ “Aunt Tsunade?” The voice brought both of them out of their anger, and they turned to see Naruto standing in the kitchen doorway. The boy looked between shocked and upset. “Naruto!!” Sasuke watched as the busty women hurried to the boy's side, wrapping him up in a hug before pushing him back for an inspection.

“He didn't do anything to you, did he? You can tell me anything, you know? Just say the word and his perverted ass is in jail!” Sasuke didn't like the way that the woman was talking about him, but he was also upset about something else. He wasn't really sure what it was.....and that worried him. Naruto scratched the back of his head, a nervous smile on his face. “Auntie.....he's my new nanny. Dad hired Sasuke himself. He’s not doing anything to me.” Tsunade looked over at the raven unbelievingly, but her passionate fury was gone. “Well, I guess that you're in good hands then. But maybe it would be better if you just stayed with me?” “No!!” Sasuke and Tsunade both looked at Naruto stunned at his sudden out burst. “I-I mean, Sasuke needs the work and he wouldn't be getting paid if I was staying with you, right?” Tsunade thought about this, and could see the kid’s reasoning. Still, she didn't like the dark-haired man. “Alright fine. I’ll be staying for dinner, so you can fix me a meal since you're such a good nanny.” Tsunade smirked at Sasuke’s irked expression, before moving off to the dining room. She stopped in the doorway, and turned back. “Aren't you coming Naruto?” Naruto smiled at his aunt, shaking his head. “I’ll join you later, auntie. Sasuke-san promised to teach me a couple things about cooking.” Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at that, but shrugged. “Alright. I'll be just out here.”

Sasuke stood silent as Naruto grabbed a couple pots and filled them with water, before placing them on the stove. “Naruto, you know very well I can't cook.” Naruto grinned at the Uchiha’s words. “Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m going to do all the cooking and you can take the credit.” “Won't your aunt catch onto your lie?,” Sasuke asked, moving to the boy's side. Naruto shook his head, moving to the cupboards and grabbing a package of pasta. “No one knows I can cook. I'd mostly live at the old bat's apartment until my dad got back, but unfortunately my sweet aunt would sometimes pass out. She has a habit of over-drinking, so I’d have to whip something up for myself. I've been cooking by myself since I was 6, and don't worry I went over the safety rules before I did anything.” Naruto added that last part when he noticed Sasuke’s upset expression. The boy poured the pasta into a pot before moving over to the fridge. He pulled out the milk, migraine and a packet of grated cheese. “Ok, so I’m the only one who knows you can cook. An ok advantage in the present situation, but still unsafe. An eight-year-old should not be cooking,” Sasuke lectured. “And....what are you cooking anyway?”

Naruto put some margarine into the smaller pot, followed by a few cups of milk. He stirred the mixture together before adding the packaged cheese, some salt, pepper and a little basil. “Tonight's special dinner is fettuccini Alfredo. Not so hard to make, and twice as delicious.” Sasuke could only smirk. This kid was amazing. He could cook, and cover for him too. 'And also.....'Sasuke touched his lips, the memory of this morning still in his mind. 'Though it doesn't seem Naruto remembers.' Sasuke watched as the small boy moved around the two pots, stirring the pasta and sauce. “Ya know, you could help me by stirring the pasta. It would make my job a little easier and that way at least if the old bat decided to pop in for a peek it would look like you're actually cooking.” Sasuke couldn't argue with the kid's facts, so he grabbed the spoon for the pasta, and began to stir it in slow, languid circles just like as he saw Naruto do. A few minutes later, the blonde told him to turn the burner off and to strain the pasta. Sasuke did as he was told, pouring the strained pasta back into the pot.

Naruto had finished with the sauce by then, and poured some of it into the pasta pot. Sasuke then just watched as the boy mixed the pasta and sauce together, plating the food and decorating it with a little more basil. 'Impressive,' Sasuke thought. Naruto caught Sasuke studying his every move and couldn't help but grin up at the man. “You know, you should try learning to cook. They say the way to anyone's heart is through their stomach!” Sasuke smirked at that, and grabbed the dished food. “Just get the silver ware and drinks, dobe.” Naruto stuck his tongue out at his nanny, but did as he was told as Sasuke strode off to the dining room. There the crude women waited, a scowl on her face. “'Bout time. I was just about to come in there. Where's Naruto?” Sasuke frowned as he set a plate of food in front of the women. This woman still thought he was molesting the brat! “I'm right here, auntie.” Naruto entered the room, drinks in hand, silver ware just barely in his hands. Sasuke walked over and removed the forks and knives from the blonde's small hands, placing the utensil's in their proper places. Naruto put the drinks down -the kid had chosen juice for himself and water for the adults- smiling up at his aunt before sitting down.

“I see you're well, Naruto,” Tsunade began. Naruto nodded his head and took a bite of the pasta. “Mmm.....Sasuke cooks great doesn't he auntie?” The blonde women took a bite, and said blandly, “it tastes great.” Sasuke wasn't sure if she was telling the truth, but it wouldn't hurt his pride. He didn't cook the meal. Tsunade put her fork down and rested her elbows on the table. She closed her eyes for a second before opening them again, staring at the young blonde. “Naruto, I think we need to talk. Your teachers called my place a week ago. Unfortunately I wasn't home so I didn't get the message until today. They said you weren't in school-“ “What?!” Tsunade glanced up at the raven who hadn't said much except for their earlier argument in the kitchen. Now though he was clearly upset, and bursting to yell at something, and his eyes were fixed on Naruto. The blonde boy was clearly ashamed, his head was down and he was avoiding the dark-haired man's gaze. “Dobe.....where were you?” Sasuke practically hissed out his question. Tsunade watched with quiet study as the man focused on Naruto. She wanted to see what the outcome of this would turn out like, so she remained silent. “Where were you Naruto?” Naruto visibly flinched as Sasuke re-asked him his earlier question, this time using his name. That couldn't be good.

Heat filmed his eyes and Naruto was afraid that if he said anything, he'd end up whimpering or something. He wanted to remain quiet but Sasuke wasn't letting him. “Naruto...” “I went to the library.” Tsunade's eyebrows rose; the Uchiha actually got a confession out of the blonde that fast. “I thought you had gone to school. If anything had happened to you, I would be at fault.” “So?! I wanted to stay home, but you wouldn't let me. My dad always let's me stay home when I ask.” Sasuke gripped his fork tightly. “Naruto, you know very well that I am not your dad. I am your caretaker. While you are in my charge, I am responsible for anything that happens to you. Skipping school and not even telling me until now....do you even think?!” “You're not my dad. I'm not going to listen to you!!” “You might as well. I'm sure your father would have the same attitude to your actions. And what makes you think that you're even old enough to be acting like you are!! You're eight years old, Naruto!” “Fuck off!!”

Naruto pushed away from the table, and ran up the stairs. His slamming door sounded through the suddenly quiet house. Tsunade cleared her throat, and gazed at the rumpled Uchiha. “Seems you were innocent in this whole affair. I'm sorry to have troubled you.” The women got to her feet and walked to the front door. “I’m giving you a chance to make things right. Naruto seems to be better off in your care, not much I can do for him anyway as of the moment. Me and his uncle....well, we're kind of stuck in a disagreement of sorts.” Sasuke only glared at the women. He didn't want to know her personal life at the moment. Tsunade could see this in her eyes, and she sighed exasperatedly. “Alright, alright I’m going. Geez, some nanny you are. Terribly unsocial but if you do the job right, I guess that's alright. Take care of him or it's your hide.” Tsunade closed the door on her way out, pulling up her jacket collar. After a moment, she stepped away from the door and out into the evening light.

Sasuke opened the room door, dodging the doll thrown at his head. The blonde was curled up under his comforter, crying. Sobs and sniffles reached his ears and Sasuke couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. He ran a hand through his hair, and walked over to the bed. “Dobe....?” Naruto only sniffled. “Leave me alone”, the boy mumbled out a minute later. Sasuke did just the opposite and sat down on the bed. The added weight made the curled up child slide down somewhat. Sasuke sighed and stared at the boy's dresser. “Dobe....I-I’m sor-rry....You should have told me that you wanted to go to the library. It would have been better than finding out that you skipped because I wouldn't let you stay home.” Naruto had fallen silent. Whether he was asleep or listening, Sasuke couldn't tell. “Whatever.....you've got only a week of school left so no more escapades. Then you can do whatever you want over the summer.” Naruto still wasn't talking to him, but he was evidently awake.

Sasuke got to his feet and walked to the door. He put his hand on the light switch when a sound drew his attention. “Sasuke......” Naruto was sitting up in bed now, eyes red from when he was crying. “Can you tuck me in?” Sasuke nodded his head and turned around. “Don't forget Gama-chan.” Sasuke picked the toad doll off from the floor and strode over to the blonde, passing him the stuffed animal before tucking him in. This was becoming a daily ritual now. “Hey Sasuke?” Sasuke paused in his tucking in of the blonde. He looked at the boy, pointedly asking what the kid wanted now with his eyes. “Can I have a goodnight kiss?” Sasuke mentally smacked his forehead, but decided he had upset the brat enough for one evening. He kissed the blonde spikes, and finished tucking the boy in. “Now go to sleep.” Naruto nodded and nuzzled his doll. “G'night Sasuke.” Sasuke smirked and turned off the light. “Night”, he said before shutting the door. As Sasuke entered his own room, he wondered how he'd come to such a fatherly role over a brat he was only supposed to be a nanny too.

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Naruto rolled over in bed, clutching Gama-chan tightly. “Oh, Gama-chan. I’m so happy. I mean, Sasuke wasn't so nice to me at dinner but I know it was my fault, so I’m not too upset. But I got to kiss Sasuke, and he tucked me into bed and even kissed my head! It makes me so happy. I can't wait for the summer. I want Sasuke to play with me,” Naruto whispered all these things into his frog's ear, a small blush on his cheeks. “I wonder if Sasuke‘ll be able to stay forever. That would really be awesome.” Yawning Naruto shifted in his bed, falling to sleep shortly after.

Chapter 4

The cart’s wheels rattled and clinked as Sasuke steered the green contraption down yet another aisle, a loud and hyper blonde at his heels. Onyx eyes took in the items lined neatly on the shelves, before returning back to the piece of lined paper in his hands. “Ok, here’s the deal. Your father has left $2000 behind as food money until his return. That means no sugars, sours and no salts.” Sasuke glanced at Naruto to make sure the child was listening. “Do you understand that?,”the Uchiha asked. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the man blankly. “Yeah, I get it. No junk food.” Sasuke smirked and continued on, the blonde sticking his tongue out at the raven’s back as he followed after his nanny. They were at Food Basics, a large commercial grocery store, to get food to reload the fridge seeing as how a certain boy felt the need to eat the kitchen clean. The said boy felt quite justified in his random feasting frenzy, going on to say that it was a boring summer that was at fault. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the memory of a chocolate-covered Naruto lying on the tiled kitchen floor, the boy’s stomach slightly rounded as it poked out from under the hem of his shirt. The raven threw a bag of potatoes into the cart, grabbing a bag of carrots along the way. ‘Hopefully that will teach him to find more productive ways to waste his summer,’ the man thought as he pushed the cart into the bread aisle. See it was the beginning of Sasuke’s second month being Naruto’s nanny, and also was the beginning of the blonde’s summer vacation. So far there had been nothing that the child had to do, none of his friends lived close enough, and Sasuke wasn’t about to amuse the blonde.

Therefore, Sasuke had found the blonde in that pitiful state and decided to take the boy with him to the store, so that Naruto could get some fresh air. Speaking of which.....the raven turned his head and found himself smacking his head on the cart’s handle. Naruto had disappeared on him....again. The Uchiha did something he never did and gave a long sigh, steering the cart through the store, turning down aisle 7. “Naruto.....”Sasuke quietly growled as he made his way to the still child, blue eyes locked to a large advertisement of sugar cereals. “Hey, Sasuke-” “No,” Sasuke said automatically without letting the boy finish. When ever naruto started his sentence like that, the raven just knew that he wouldn’t like what ever the child had to say. “Oh, c’mon!! Just one box!! Please Sa~sukeeee!” He should have looked away, should have ignored the pleading tone, but he hadn’t. The raven had turned his head and had caught sight of those glimmering blue orbs and those pouty pink lips; and he knew that he had to say no. A tiny little snap sounded in the background: it was the sound of Sasuke’s resolve breaking as he gave into Naruto’s puppy eyes. Grudgingly his pale fingers wrapped around a box of Trix and threw the colorful box into the cart. The blonde gave a shout of joy and skipped ahead, leaving Sasuke to brood over his moment of weakness. ‘Damn you, you cock-sucking rabbit!! You and the goddamn media’s twisted manipulation mind tricks on children!’ To say the least, Sasuke was not happy. Many people found themselves leaving the nearest aisles as a dark aura seeped out from the cereal section.

Frowning, Sasuke marched to the check-out lane, satisfied with the amount of food that he had already gathered. Almost like magic, the blonde appeared at his side, smiling brightly. “I had thought you’d gotten lost,” the raven murmured, not adding that he had actually hoped that was the case. Naruto flashed his teeth at the man, eyes twinkling in amusement. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.” Sasuke gave a ‘hn’, pulling out his wallet to pay for the groceries. The cashier women smiled sweetly at him, a faint blush on her cheeks. Sasuke, who was too busy being disgusted, never noticed how the kid beside him grew tense and was frowning at the young women. He took his change without word, and told the blonde to help him carry the food back to the car, the raven carrying the heavier stuff of course. Once they had made it outside, the bags put in the trunk, Naruto had decided to speak up. “Sasuke.... the women at the cashier.....why was she smiling at you?” Sasuke eyed the kid before opening the car doors. “Probably because she found me attractive.” “Does that mean she likes you?,” the boy asked as he got into the car, buckling in. Sasuke was silent for a moment as he got in as well. “Well, I guess you can say that she liked me.” Sasuke buckled himself in, and stuck the key into the ignition. “Do you like her?” Naruto stilled as the question left his lips, his heart beating rapidly awaiting Sasuke’s answer. The raven turned to look at him, eyebrow raised as he stared at the blonde in a mix of shock and humor. “Why would I like her? Women such as herself annoy me. So to answer your question....No, I don’t like her. Though I wonder why an eight-year-old is even asking me a thing like that...,”the raven mumbled that last bit as he turned back around in his seat, turning the car on and pulling out of parking lot. Naruto felt his heart glow at what the nanny said, a warm smile coming to his lips during the drive back home.

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“Please, I’m bored. I’ve got nothing to do.” Naruto tugged on his nanny’s shirt, but the man continued to ignore him, engrossed in his newspaper. “Are you even listening to me?” Sasuke’s black eyes flickered up from the paper in irritation, locking gaze with the restless blonde. “I’m listening but believe me, I don’t want to hear.” Naruto pouted and bounced on the couch. “C’mon, you’re my nanny. You’re supposed to keep me entertained. So why don’t you do something fun with me?” Sasuke returned to his newspaper, ignoring the child’s whining. “I don’t do fun,” he said. Naruto rolled his eyes, before getting off the couch. ‘No, duh! You think I didn’t notice?’ With a sigh, the blonde exited the living room, noticing that his caretaker continued to read as he left. Still pouting, Naruto walked upstairs, entering into his bedroom. He hurried to his closet, digging through the mess, searching. “C’mon, c’mon.....I know it’s in here somewhere.” Naruto smiled triumphantly as his hands tightened around the object of his search.

Sasuke folded his newspaper, turning his head to the staircase. Naruto had left a few minutes before and he had heard the blonde walking around upstairs, but now everything was silent. The raven frowned as he shifted position. A quiet blonde was not a good thing. The backyard’s patio door slid open and feet padded over in his direction, Naruto standing in the living room doorway. “Hey Sasuke!,” the child called cheerfully. Sasuke didn’t like the boy’s grin or the way he held his hands behind his back. “Dobe.....what are you-,”Sasuke never finished his sentence for in the next moment he was being blasted by a cold spray. Finally the onslaught stopped and Sasuke unclogged his ears to hear the blonde laughing at him. Hair dripping wet, the raven turned his head to his attacker, wiping water out of his eyes as he did so. Still standing in the room’s doorway, stood the blonde smiling wickedly, water gun in hand. “Feel the might of my Super soaker, Teme!!” Sasuke felt his left eye twitch as the boy continued to laugh, and silently he stood. “Naruto......”

Blue eyes snapped open in surprise, Naruto tearing out of the living room as he realized Sasuke was out for blood now. The boy ran outside, pumping madly before again spraying the stoic man, running again as the raven once more chased after him. Despite the fact that he was being chased by a pissed off nanny, Naruto couldn’t help but laugh which soon turned into shrieks of delight as him and the Uchiha wove patterns into his backyard. Sasuke tripped as he lunged for the small blonde, giving Naruto the chance to get further ahead. Grumbling the dark-haired male got to his feet, glaring at the object that had tripped him up. His dark eyes widened in surprise before a smirk graced his features, as the item of his victory lay at his feet. Naruto wouldn’t be able to soak him again.

Naruto pumped the water gun as quietly as he could, stepping around the side of the house to see what the Uchiha was up to now. His cerulean orbs searched across his backyard, resting as they spotted the older male seated pleasantly on the grass. His lips formed into a scowl; how could the raven ignore him now? Naruto crept up to his nanny, water gun poised, finger placed on the trigger. Just a little closer now.....“GOTCHA!” Naruto screamed in surprise as Sasuke suddenly spun around, spraying him down with cold water from the green hose clenched in pale hands. Naruto tried to retreat but Sasuke was quick. He hosed the boy down further, completely soaking him, dropping the hose as the boy tried to turn his water gun around for another shot. Sasuke grabbed the struggling blonde around the waist, pulling him flush against his body as he wrestled for the supersoaker. Finally he managed to get it from the laughing blonde, and tossed it onto the ground. Still Naruto laughed, pointing a finger at Sasuke. “Hahahahahaha....should have seen.....ahah....face.....t-too funny......ahahaaa....” Sasuke suddenly noticed how closely pressed the younger male was to him, he could practically feel the other’s heat through their damp clothes. Blushing, he released the child and turned away. “G-go get cha-changed b-bef-fore you catch c-cold.....” Sasuke cursed himself for his stuttering. Naruto too, seemed to have noticed because he had fallen silent, before heading back inside. Sasuke sat himself down in the grass, gazing up into the sky. His skin still tingled from the memory of Naruto against him. “Oh god.......what’s wrong with me?”

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Naruto slipped into his blue pajamas, tossing his dirty clothes into the hamper. He grabbed Gama-chan and marched to his bed, slipping the doll under the covers. Down the hall, the blonde could hear Sasuke preparing for bed: brushing his teeth and changing out of his clothes. His tiny fingers gripped the sheets tightly, a knot of fear in his gut. Sasuke had become so quiet earlier, and he seemed so....distant. Naruto felt sick and worried for the rest of the day. ‘Wh-what if Sasuke doesn’t like me anymore? W-what if he hates me now? And all I wanted to do was play......’ Similar thoughts ran through his young brain, making him even more anxious and scared. The bathroom light was turned off -he heard- and footsteps echoed outside of the room, as his nanny approached. Naruto swallowed sharply, gazing up at raven that stood in his doorway. “You’re supposed to be in bed,” Sasuke said. Naruto stood taller, chin lifted defiantly. “I told you before, I won’t go to sleep until you tuck me in and give me my goodnight kiss.” The dark-haired male seemed to flinch when he had spoken. This made the bright boy to lose his confidence.

“Sorry....I am not your father. I shouldn’t do things like that.” With that said, Sasuke turned away, his fingers switching off the light as he began to close the door. ‘He’s not even looking at me....’ “S-sasuke.......”The door’s movement halted, and Naruto took a step forward. “Sas...suke, please.....,” the blonde begged, tears caught in his throat. The door again began to close and Naruto couldn’t bear it. He ran forward, his smaller fingers wrapping around the bronze knob and pulling back against the raven’s grip. Sasuke didn’t seem to expect any action on his part, because the door easily swung open and the pale man stood there, surprised. Naruto turned wet eyes up at him, before wrapping his arms around Sasuke’s waist. “P-please, Sasuke....i-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!! J-just please.....please....d-don’t, don’t ha-hate me.....” Naruto gripped tightly at the raven’s clothes, pushing his face against Sasuke’s thigh. He didn’t want Sasuke to see him crying. He stayed that way, latched onto the nanny and pleading for forgiveness, his little shoulders shaking terribly. Warm hands gripped his wrists, prying his arms off. The blonde wrestled against the male’s hold, he didn’t want to let go until Sasuke didn’t hate him anymore. “Naruto......” Blue eyes opened at the flat tone, staring into midnight orbs. “What makes you think I hate you, dobe?” He raised a tanned hand to his face, wiping away his tears. “B-because....Sss-sasuke wouldn’t t-talk to mmmm-me....” Sasuke’s thumb wiped away the tears on his other cheek, before the man stood up. “I don’t hate you. Come, it’s time for bed.”

Naruto followed Sasuke quietly back into his room, slipping into bed. “Aren’t you going to tuck me in?,” the boy asked as he noticed the raven was going to leave again. The male paused, before looking at him. For a moment, Naruto stared back at him in worry, fresh tears springing up to his eyes. Finally, Sasuke came forward, wrapping the sheets tightly around him and pecking him on his forehead. Sasuke made to back away, when Naruto reached out, looping his arms around Sasuke’s neck. “I don’t hate you, Sasuke. So....please....don’t hate me either.” Sasuke patted the boy on the back awkwardly. “You have to go to bed, dobe.” Naruto sighed in resignation and released his hold on the raven. “Good night, Sasuke.” Sasuke walked to his door, hand on the frame. “Good night, Naruto.”

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Sasuke sat up in bed, turning on the bedside lamp as he wiped at his eyes. Something had woken him up......and even though he was angry that he was awake, he was even angrier at the sort of dream he had been trapped in. His groin still hummed with the vision, and he felt disgusted with himself. To think of a child that way, especially his charge.....there was no excuse for that. Obsidian eyes glanced at the alarm clock placed beside the lamp, taking in the red digits. 2:47. Suddenly a ringing erupted from the silence, breaking Sasuke from his thoughts. Grudgingly he got to his feet, pulling out his cell phone from his pant’s pocket. ‘Who the hell could be calling at a time like this?’ He flipped the razor out, flipping it open and placing it next to his ear. “Hello?......Yes, this is he.........No, now isn’t a bad time......My stuff?........yes........But i-............no, no......I understand.......I’ll be there shortly......” Sasuke flipped his phone shut in annoyance, grabbing his clothes and throwing them on. His apartment manager had called, telling him that his rent was over-due and that he needed to come pick up his things. And when the raven tried to say that he would be getting paid in a few month’s time, the man had said that condos were a highly valued home and that if Sasuke wasn’t able to afford it he should just move out. Too many people were looking for condos. Sasuke grumbled as he grabbed the house keys, slipping his shoes on. He glanced up the stairs, his brow furrowed in worry. He couldn’t just leave the blonde brat by himself.

Sasuke strode into the kitchen, writing a quick note and putting it on the table top. He only hoped the boy saw it before freaking out. He opened the house garage, unlocking the car door and seating himself at the wheel. As quietly as he could, he started the engine, pulling the car out of the garage and down the driveway, pressing the button on the dash board and watching as the garage door closed. With a final glance at the darkened windows, Sasuke put the car in drive and sped off toward the location of his recent home.

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Naruto sat up in bed, stretching. He flexed his fingers and toes, yawning as he got to his feet. Outside his window was blue skies and a few black dots of the local birds flying by. He scratched his head, and pulled out an outfit for today, slipping into orange shorts and a black tee. Naruto folded his pajamas, and made his bed, glancing at his alarm as he did so. He was stunned to see that he had slept later than normal; it was 11:53. ‘I hope Sasuke isn’t angry that I slept in.’ Naruto hurried downstairs, a slight bounce in his step. Sasuke didn’t hate him, there couldn’t possibly be anything wrong. The blonde rushed into the kitchen, a grin on his face. “Good morning Sas-,” Naruto stopped short as he realized that the raven wasn’t there. “Sasuke?” His blue eyes looked around the empty kitchen, before leaving the room. He padded through the house, quietly and slowly afraid he might accidentally miss the pale man. Through the living room, upstairs bedrooms, backyard and garage......Naruto felt his worry and fear grow with each passing second. “Sasuke.....?,” the blonde boy whispered, tears springing to his sapphire orbs. It was his worst fear come true.....to be all alone. His dad had left and now Sasuke too...... ‘No! S-sasuke would never leave me! He just couldn’t!’ Naruto ran back to the entryway, slipped his sneakers on and grabbed his coat. He wiped away his earlier tears and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

‘I’ve got to find Sasuke and make sure he’s ok.’ Naruto hurried down the steps, tying his jacket around his waist, as he hurried to the park. He was sure that was where Sasuke had gone.

Chapter 5

Sasuke shoved another box into the back seat of the car, slamming the door shut angrily. Today, just hadn’t been his day. After arriving at the condo at 6:00 that morning, he had been reamed out by his superintendent and wasn’t even given access until he had written a stupid check (he had to forge his parents’ signature unfortunately) and handed it over to the fat, greedy man. And even then, he had entered his apartment, only to realize that he would have to leave behind the bigger stuff: like his leather sofa, four-post bed and plasma t.v. Sasuke spent the better part of the morning sifting through his things, picking the items that he could not leave behind, and putting them in small boxes. The afternoon was spent with him taking boxes downstairs to the car, made longer by the fact that he lived on the 23^rd floor and today the elevators seemed to constantly being used. It was now 6:30 -six thirty!- and Sasuke wasn’t exactly all rainbows and butterflies. No....he definitely wasn’t. Jamming the key into the ignition -with enough force to snap the poor metal- the raven started the car and turned out of the underground garage, hands gripping the steering wheel in a death-like grip, imagining it was the manager’s neck between his fingers. That made him feel a little better.

‘I wonder what the dobe is doing now?’ The thought of the smiling blonde welcoming him home eased his nerves, but also rattled him. It was obvious now that he felt something for the child, but he was twenty-three and the boy was eight. Such a thing would be criminal, and Sasuke was no criminal. Sasuke’s mouth twisted into a frown as he turned a corner. This was probably the first time he had ever felt such feelings for anyone else. Females annoyed him, and many males were nothing more than moronic idiots. So why was it he had to fall head over heels for a 3^rd grade? Sasuke didn’t care that the one he cared for was a boy -explained a lot about why he never cared for girls- but it just complicated things, with Naruto being only eight. He turned the car down a street, before pulling up into the driveway of the Uzumaki household. Turning the car off, Sasuke opened the door and locked it. The boxes could wait until tomorrow, right now he wanted only to see the hyper child. Smirking slightly, Sasuke stepped up to the door. ‘If I find he ate all the sugar in the cupboard again, I’m not rubbing his tummy.’ The smirk fell though when he put his hand on the doorknob. He twisted his wrist slightly and the door swung open, revealing the quiet house. ‘I’m sure I locked it this morning....’ Worried Sasuke walked into the dark house. “Naruto?,” he called.

No answer came to him. Panicking, Sasuke strode quickly through the house. His note was still on the table, but there was no sign of the blonde in any of the rooms. Sasuke jogged down the stairs, standing once more in the entryway. Naruto’s shoes and jacket was gone....that lessened his worry slightly, showing that at least Naruto hadn’t been kidnaped right out of the house. Coal eyes gazed out at the houses, lining the other side of the street. There was a break in the rows of houses, a large wooden sign placed in the middle a sidewalk, Hidden Leaf Park written across it in bold letters. Then it clicked in. ‘The park.....he’s got to be there!’ Sasuke gazed at the darkening sky, brow furrowed. Naruto may have gone to the park, but parks were a dangerous place at night. Especially in America. Sasuke rushed out of the house, slamming the door behind him as he ran across the street. He passed the large wooden sign and hurried into the park. He only hoped he could find the blonde boy before it was too late.

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Naruto pushed his way through another bush, pulling his coat closer as he moved out from the underbrush. The sky was nearly black now, the city lights filling it with a neon glow near the horizon. Naruto wiped at his eyes, pouting at the air. He couldn’t find Sasuke anywhere, and he was tired and hungry, and he had been so sure that the raven was going to be here. Disappointed in himself at his silly thinking, Naruto turned around to head back home. He’d scoured over nearly the entire length of the park -Konoha was a large public part, split off into several different sections- and hadn’t found any sign that his nanny had been there. The blonde child walked down the twisting path, his feet scuffing off the cement walkway. It was quiet now except for the far away hum of traffic, the park empty of all people. Naruto walked under a large oak, the long limbs sweeping towards him, when a sound alerted him. The young boy hadn’t thought anything much of being alone, but at the sound of the rustling bushes, he had been reiterated on the fact. Breath coming out in short bursts, Naruto turned his wild blue eyes about, landing on a tall stranger. The man walked forward, smiling eerily down at the child.

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Orochimaru had come to his favorite place, the park, and had been walking around for a bit. He had started in the dog park, late in the afternoon and had moved up past the fountain and Willow tree trail. His eyes fed on the young boys that had danced around, most tired out and clinging to their mothers’ sides and heading home. The look of fatigue made his pants tight, and he wished he had been the one to cause that look on their faces. It had been too long, much too long in his opinion since he’d last spent some quality time with children, preferably the little boys. The sky darkened as he headed to the south side of Konoha park, and as he reminisced on better days, a young child caught his eye. Blonde spikes stood against the shadows, as the little boy paused under the oak tree. The tiny figure entranced him, and those emotional sapphire orbs drew his attention. The plump lips made him hungry to chew on it, and to lick and suckle the blonde’s tongue. Orochimaru licked his lips at the chance he had been offered, and not one to squander good opportunities, the man moved forward quickly and as quietly as he could. The small boy turned and gazed at him, the beautiful blue eyes widened in fear. Orochimaru grinned, and stepped closer.

“Are you alone little one? Do you need someone to take you home?” Naruto stepped back nervously as the man approached. He didn’t answer the man who deeply reminded him of a snake. The strange yellow eyes leered at him from beneath the greasy black hair, the man attempting what Naruto thought should have been a smile. “Here, let me take you home. It’s not safe to be out by yourself late at night.” The long fingers reached out for him, the man’s sickly kindness vanishing as he lunged at the child. Naruto opened his mouth as the larger body fell toward him, but the snake’s quick fingers silenced him before he good get any sound out. Orochimaru pushed the boy to the ground, covering his body with his own. The squirming child was exciting him, and it wouldn’t be long he knew before he was inside the petite body. The man slide a tongue down the whiskered cheek, relishing in the boy’s taste, circling the shell of the child’s ear. The blonde shivered at the contact, before again trying to pry the older man off him. The tan hands gripped at his larger one, digging fingernails in. Unfortunately for Naruto, Orochimaru had many fingernails dug into his skin before, so much that the feeble attempts felt nothing more than a small numbness. Still, it made the hunt all the more pleasurable if the prey struggled. A wandering hand made its way down Naruto’s body, resting right on the crotch of his pants. The hand made him tingle all over, but he didn’t want it. ‘N-nooo....Sa-sasuke....only sas-asuke can.....’ “Little boy....do you like it? I can tell you do....” Naruto twisted his head sharply against Orochimaru’s hold, freeing his mouth long enough to shout. “NO!!” Orochimaru quickly silenced the boy, placing his lips over the smaller ones. The blonde screamed fruitlessly into his mouth, and the man smirked in triumph. Another prize he’d captured. “Get off!!” Orochimaru felt his neck snap as he was knocked off the boy, rolling off into the bush.

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Sasuke had been searching for twenty minutes already, and had spotted no sign of Naruto. This worried him, and he quickened his pace through the deserted park. Naruto couldn’t have just disappeared....he couldn’t have. If the blonde had gotten kidnaped, then yes Sasuke would be in trouble with the authorities and the boy’s father, but more than anything he would feel guilty and angry beyond reason at himself for losing the only person that meant much to him. Steeling himself against such negative thoughts, Sasuke turned the corner and stepped past the children’s jungle gym. It was too quiet in the park, perhaps if he yelled Naruto would hear him across the silence. Hoping that would be so, Sasuke called out into the darkness. He called twice, paused and called again. Unfortunately, the one he was looking for hadn’t heard the call, as he had been occupied with the snake man. The raven’s stomach clenched in fear as he practically jogged through the park now, praying to what ever god that he would find the child. He took a turn in a bend, his heart pounding in worry, when out of the black rung a voice that he knew so well. “NO!!” Naruto wasn’t too far away, and with renewed strength sprinted toward the source of the sound. He broke through the bushes and to his dismay found a man smothering his blonde, touching him and kissing him in a way that no other should. Anger engulfed him, and yelling with rage, Sasuke pounced on the offending assaulter. His fist swung and caught the man’s face, throwing him off the blonde.

Straightening himself up, Sasuke cracked his knuckles, growling at the staggering man. Orochimaru glared at the other man who had interrupted him, though inside he felt himself flinch under the murderous glare that was being sent his way. The look the enraged raven was giving him wanted to make him curl up in a ball and wither away. Sasuke stepped toward the greasy man, ready to grab the man’s slimy scalp and smash into the cement but the other male suddenly turned tail and ran off, with only a passing leer at the blonde as he went. Sasuke stared off after the retreating man’s back, tempted to chase after him, but was halted by the small arms that flung themselves around his waist. He looked down to see Naruto clinging to him like he had the night before.....this time though the boy was more distraught and with good reason. “S-sas-ssuke......d-don’t leave....pleee-ase.....do-don’t leave me al-alone....” The blonde quietly sobbed into his leg, until Sasuke squatted down and lifted the eight-year old into his arms, where the child then gripped tightly onto his jacket, crying into his chest. Sasuke was still angry and indeed he wanted to shout and stomp and make a scene, but he didn’t want to hurt the boy more than he was tonight. Instead he held the child close, rubbing his back soothingly, taking them back home.

‘If I ever see that asshole again, I’ll rip his fucking balls off and feed them to the city’s dogs! Noone touches my Naruto that way!!’ Sasuke paused in his stride as the thoughts processed through his brain, before again moving on. He felt ashamed of himself, the fact that he could only think of Naruto as an object like that pedophile had done. ‘He’s not mine to claim. I must remember that.’ Feeling his mood sour even more, the older male entered back into the empty house, locking the door behind him. He slipped his and the blonde’s shoes off, walking over to the couch where he sat down, putting the child on his lap. The boy was still clinging to him, but the tears had ebbed now. “Naruto....,” the nanny whispered. “W-where.....where did he touch you?” It hurt him to ask it, but he needed to know how much was done. The blue eyes looked up at him, fearful and sad. The blonde pulled away slightly, tracing the outline of his cheek. “Here...,”he whispered, then pointed his ear. “Here.” And finally he placed a hand on the front of his pants. “Here.” Naruto could feel the waves of animosity coming off of the raven, and flinched despite himself. He felt so dirty that the snake man had touched him. “D-did he put his hand.....in-inside you pants?,” Sasuke growled. Naruto kept his head bowed, and shook his head. “N-no.....Sasuke stopped him......” The hatred was still there, but it had dimmed considerably. A hand surprised him, stroking his cheek softly.

The blonde gazed up and noticed that the obsidian eyes he loved so much were focused on him, the dark depths muddled with longing and confusion. “Naruto.....I want to know if anyone ever does that to you again. I want you to fight back, aim to hurt.” Naruto nodded, feeling exceptionally light-headed. He’d do anything Sasuke asked of him. The raven leaned forward, lips gently brushing against his own, then his cheek, moving down. The whole world seemed to be floating as Naruto received the attention given to him, a part of him somewhat lost as to why Sasuke was doing this. The child let out a pleased gasp when Sasuke latched onto his neck, sucking the tan flash. He knew by law Sasuke shouldn’t be doing this, it made him as bad as the scary man in the park, but it felt so nice and he wanted Sasuke to do it. To touch him in the way that the snake man tried to touch him. His nanny gave a final suck, releasing the blonde, and sitting back. Sasuke couldn’t believe he had done what he had, but it was too late to go back now. There on the boy’s neck, stood a large hickey, evidence of the caress he had just given. Instead of the terror he was expecting to find in the sapphire orbs, he was shocked to find joy and a hint of underlying lust in the blue eyes.

Sasuke searched for words to say, after his strange behavior, but Naruto beat him to it. “It’s past my bedtime.....g’night Sasuke.” Naruto pecked him on the cheek, sliding off the raven’s lap and trotting over to the stairs. He left the man sitting there, dwelling in his over-whelming lust, while the small child hurried up to bed, a hand over top of the hickey Sasuke gave him. The mark made him buzz with happiness, for it showed that he truly was Sasuke’s. Smiling through his blush, Naruto climbed into bed, even more elevated that Sasuke hadn’t really disappeared on him. ‘I love Sasuke....’ Downstairs Sasuke held his cheek where his charge had kissed him, his own mind processing through the fact that he had: 1)given the boy a hickey, and 2) had been kissed in return. He tried to remain logical about the whole affair, but the Uchiha would be lying if he didn’t say he was tremendously pleased. Turning out the lights, Sasuke headed upstairs also, smiling as he peered in on the sleeping blonde. He walked into the room, kissing the blonde softly as he tucked the child in. He left the unconscious child, and went to his own bed, laying down on the mattress. He may be in serious trouble if anything more happened in this precarious relationship, but the raven couldn’t care less. Love did that to people.

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Chapter 6

Naruto slid out of his bed, yawning loudly as he stretched out, before walking to his dresser. He pulled out some clothes to wear that day, slipping them on and gazing into his bedroom mirror. Against his peach skin, stood the red circle formed by Sasuke’s lips the night before. Touching it gently with his forefinger, the blonde blushed. His heart pounded against his chest as he thought of what today might bring. Hopefully no more Sasuke disappearances and freaky men in the park. Grabbing Gama-chan as he left, the boy hurried downstairs, finding Sasuke already seated in the kitchen. “Morning!!,” Naruto cried as he ran up to the raven, hugging his nanny as best as he could. Sasuke gave his nonchalant ‘hn’, before getting to his feet; walking to the stove and dishing some food onto a plate. “Come Dobe. I doubt you had anything to eat yesterday, so you’ll need to fill up.” Naruto trailed after his caretaker, sitting down at the kitchen table and picking up his fork. Staring up at him was a large sunny-side up egg, toast and some of those little convenient sausages. His jaw dropped as he gazed up at the raven. “S-sasuke....you made breakfast for me?,” he asked, amazed beyond words. Sasuke kept his expression neutral, but the faint blush betrayed his feelings. “Yes, dobe. Now eat, so you might play later on.” Naruto grinned happily, digging into his meal that wasn’t half-bad for someone who barely cooked. He would have to tell Sasuke how much he enjoyed it afterwards.

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“Sasuke....when’s your birthday?” The raven put down his newspaper and gazed in mild surprise at his charge. The boy had abandoned Scooby-Doo to ask him about his birthday? Now this was a surprise. “None of your business,” he answered back, returning to the financial section. Naruto pouted and poked at the newspaper, disturbing Sasuke as he read. “Ah, come on. Tell me!” Sasuke frowned before shaking his head. In truth, his birthday was only three days away but he didn’t need to complicate things by sharing his birthday with the blonde. Naruto began to poke his forearm rather animatedly, seemingly upset. The nanny continued to read, ignoring the prodding finger, but the boy’s aim had shifted to his arm....shoulder.....cheek.... “Dobe...quit it.” Naruto turned baby blue eyes up to the pale man, lower lip jutting out in a puppy-like plea. “But Saaaa-sukeeee.....I’m bored and you’re not paying me any attention.” The raven sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “What exactly do you want to do?,” he asked grudgingly. Small arms wrapped around his neck, and Sasuke fought to keep the blush down. “Library!!” Coal eyes glanced down at the young male, a little surprised to say the least but happy that it wasn’t a place so largely populated during summer break. “Fine.” Naruto gave a happy shout in his ear, deafening him momentarily, but giving the raven a chance to see the hickey on the tanned neck when the joyful child pulled away. “Put a turtle neck on,” Sasuke commanded once Naruto had gotten to his feet.

The blonde looked at him puzzled, his brow furrowed in confusion. Sasuke mentally sighed, ruffling his newspaper. “I-it would be strange if anyone should see that mark on your neck. It’s not something many children have....,” Sasuke replied, stuttering only slightly and blushing faintly. Naruto blushed at the statement, and touched the hickey almost sadly. It was as if he was disappointed he had to hide the red spot. “O-ok. But I’m blaming you if I get heatstroke,” Naruto huffed, before tearing out of the room. The nanny smirked, folding up the paper. He couldn’t help it, the boy’s bubbly nature was affecting him in a way he didn’t so much hate. Getting to his feet, Sasuke stretched slightly before heading to the entryway. His smirk faltered somewhat as his thoughts lingered on the hickey he had put on the blonde’s neck but such thoughts were wiped away as a yellow bundle plowed into him, childish giggles reaching his ears. And once more, Sasuke was smiling.

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Naruto dashed through the rows of shelves with silent ease, cerulean orbs gazing at the decimal numbers as he hurried past the towering bookcases. The library was exceptionally empty today, but then again it wasn’t all that surprising. The weather outside was beautiful and people would much rather spend their time out in the sun than in an old building filled with musty old books. Honestly, Naruto couldn’t care either way. Skipping down the long hallway, the blonde noticed how the shelves got higher and wider, and that the place was slightly darker and smelled mustier. The boy smiled to himself; he was almost there. Dim lighting showing him the way, Naruto turned into a tiny lane, getting to his hands and knees as he crawled along the floor. His eyes remained glued to the bottom shelf, blue orbs taking in the cursive gold lettering written onto dusty spines. Finally he spotted the book he was looking for. His tiny fingers wrapped around the red leather, pulling the large book out of its spot and onto his lap with a small thud and a poof of dust. Gently Naruto wiped his fingers across the cover, before opening the book. “Hello, kyuubi...I’ve missed you...” A sound behind him shocked him out of his thoughts and instinctively he slammed the book shut. “My, my, my....what do we have here?” Naruto turned his head and looked up at the man towering over him, a single eye showing through silver bangs and catching his attention. Although it might have to do more with the fact that the guy wore a face mask and had a bandage over his other eye.

Naruto picked himself up and slowly backed away from the scarecrow man. The snake man’s slimy touch still fresh in his mind. He looked around him worriedly, it was dark and silent where he was; he wondered if Sasuke would hear him if he screamed. “Ah....hey, what’s wrong?” The scarecrow man had noticed his retreating and took a step forward. Naruto tensed, poised to run off if the man came any closer. “Kakashi...?” Both males jumped momentarily before turning around to see the new arrival. “Iruka-sensei!!” The blonde scampered over to his teacher, and clung to his legs, relieved that he had been rescued. The brunette gently patted his head before prying the child off. “Did Kakashi-san scare you Naruto?,” he asked. The blonde spikes swished as the boy nodded his head, glancing over at the silver-haired male. Iruka chuckled and Kakashi scratched the back of his head. “Iruka....it isn’t funny. The child’s scared of me, now people are going to think I’m a pedophile.” The blonde seemed to perk at the words and turned to his teacher. “Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here? And who’s this weirdo man with you?” The grey-haired man sighed, and began walking back to the library’s lobby, while Iruka and Naruto followed after. “He’s a very close friend of mine, Naruto. As for why I’m here, I wanted to catch up on some summer reading. Are you here all by yourself?” The blonde frowned at Kakashi. “You have bad taste in friends, Iruka-sensei,” he grumbled. Iruka rolled his eyes and held the boy’s hand as they came back out into the more populated front of the library.

“Naruto!” The blue-eyed child jolted at the calling of his name and tore away from his teacher’s grip. Iruka watched, puzzled and surprised, as the blonde ran up to a dark-haired male and clung to his waist. Kakashi, noticing his boyfriend’s strange behavior, led the brunette to his golden-haired pupil. Sasuke called the boy’s name, as he had been for the past couple minutes, and was finally rewarded with the energetic child plastering to his side. Frowning slightly, he patted the boy’s head, gazing into cerulean orbs. “Dobe, you shouldn’t be taking off. I don’t want to lose you again.” Naruto bowed his head in shame, before nodding. “I-I’m sorry, Sasuke. I won’t run off again, I swear!” The nanny released his breath, before ruffling the gold spikes. ‘Yeah, I know.’ The boy began to turn his head around, as if for looking for someone. “Dobe, what are you looking for?,” the raven asked. “I’m looking for Iruka-sensei,” the blonde said, before finally halting. Sasuke looked up and coming toward them was two men: one with silver hair and the other with brown. “N-naruto....whose this?,” Iruka squeaked, coming out of his trance. Obsidian eyes narrowed at him as the pale man before him stood up straight, a scowl planted on pale lips. Naruto smiled brightly, tugging at the sleeve of Sasuke’s shirt. A great feat since the raven’s arms were folded up against his stomach. “This is Sasuke. He’s my nanny!” Kakashi stifled a chuckle, ducking behind Iruka when the raven started glaring daggers into the silver crown. “S-so....he’s your n-nanny?,” Iruka asked, trying to hide the smile that was itching to rise. The other man nodded, before patting Naruto on the head. “I’m sorry to interrupt your reuniting but it’s about time we headed home. Are you ready to go, Naruto?,” the nanny asked emotionlessly. Naruto snapped his attention away from where he had been gazing off, and looked up at his caretaker. “I’m just going to get one more thing, Sasuke. Talk to Iruka-sensei and I’ll meet you at the check out lane.”

Naruto scurried off somewhere, and Sasuke turned angrily back to the other adults. ‘Stupid dobe....leaving me with these two strangers.’ His glare still hadn’t left as he turned its intensity to the two men who knew his blonde. “I-it’s nice to meet you Sasuke.....I’m Naruto’s teacher, Iruka Umino.” The raven looked at the hand held out to him, and grudgingly took the hand, giving it a simple shake before releasing it quickly after. The brunette smiled nervously before looking over at his partner. “S-sasuke...umm, do you have a last name?...” “Uchiha...” “U-uchiha-san, I’ll be teaching Naruto again next year. I’d greatly appreciate it if you would call him in sick if he stays home. Keeps me from worrying less.” Sasuke listened attentively to the teacher, before nodding his head. “I’ll do that. If you can excuse me.....,” the raven replied, turning and leaving the two men’s presence. Iruka watched, still stunned as the cold man walked off before the warm hand on his shoulder woke him from his stupor. “Iruka....he’s gone now. I think it’s time we get going too.” Iruka nodded and followed after his silver-haired companion, staring back at the Uchiha’s retreating form. “I can’t help bu feel chilled by him for some reason....” Kakashi just shrugged. “Oh well. Now come on, they have Icha Icha Paradise on DVD in the video section!” The brunette flushed as his boyfriend took off, practically foaming at the mouth.

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Sasuke locked the door behind him, listening as Naruto tossed his shoes to the side and scurried up the stairs. The raven turned around catching the sight of the blonde’s retreating back, confused. He shrugged it off and strode into the kitchen, placing a pot roast into the oven before heading into the living room. He turned the television on and put it on channel 8, the news already on. For a while Sasuke sat there, listening to that evening’s news report but he quickly got annoyed with it and returned to the kitchen. The stoic man checked the roast, before setting the table. With nothing better to do now, he stood and contemplated the silence. Wait, silence? Sasuke strode over to the staircase, looking up. It was dark up in the second landing, except for the thin line of yellow light that glowed against the dark ceiling. ‘What could the dobe be up to?’ Sasuke walked up the steps, moving down the hall to the blonde’s closed bedroom door. He stood outside of the room, hesitant, with his hand above the knob. Inside he could hear the quiet chatter of Naruto, as if he was talking to someone, but the words were too faint to make out. The older male stayed as he was, unsure if he should intrude, but the voices faded away for a moment and he decided to check up on the young boy. The bright light blinded him momentarily, but his eyes were quick to adjust and focus on the tan boy lying on the bed, a large book open up in front of him.

The blue eyes had been trained on the pages just moments before but now were looking at him. “Hey, Sasuke,” the blonde greeted, shifting slightly on his stomach, again looking towards the book. “Dobe,” the Uchiha replied, stepping into the room. “What are you doing?” The child turned a page, eyes glued to the book. “Reading,” he replied. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Of course he was reading, Sasuke could clearly see that. “Reading what?,” the raven inquired as he studied the open page. There was a small box in the middle of the paper surrounded by fading words, inked in black and depicting some sort of animal. “It’s the tale of Kyuubi-sama.” Okay, now Sasuke was interested. “Who?” Naruto raised his brilliant sapphire orbs, grabbing the book and sitting upright to make room for the older man. Sasuke took the invitation and sat down beside the boy. “Kyuubi-sama was this great Demon Lord, he looked like a giant fox with nine tails and red eyes. He was known throughout all the lands for his ferocious strength and the many disasters he caused.” The blonde stated all of this with a hint of pride in his voice. “And you’re reading about a psychopath fox on steroids because....?”

Naruto glared at the nanny, but it wasn’t very effective with his lip jutting out in a pout. “He’s not a psychopath, and he’s not on steroids!,” Naruto retorted, huffing angrily. Sasuke, despite being drawn by the adorable pout on the child’s face, was taken back by the ferocity in which the blonde had spoken. The smoldering orbs turned away from him and to the inked picture, the tiny hands gently stroking the yellowing pages. The raven watched on silently. “Naruto...?,” he began after a moment only to be cut off by his charge. “I know it’s just a story Sasuke. But....it’s still not fair to judge someone -even a storybook character- by what others say. Kyuubi-sama....isn’t what everyone says he is.” The Uchiha studied the child’s face, noting the small arch of the eyebrows, the tightness of the lips; the crumpled eyes that were so focused on the pages. Gleaming with a look Sasuke couldn’t decipher. His stomach knotted at the image. Sasuke was stratled out of his reverie though when the child closed the book, holding it to his chest. “Kyuubi-sama is a cool person!,” the blonde exclaimed suddenly and cheerfully. The raven shook his head at the child’s weird antics.

Naruto chuckled, shifting closer to the nanny and putting the large book on the dark-haired male’s lap. Sasuke stared at the book a moment, then at the small boy. “Sasuke, can you read me the book?” The raven smirked and ruffled the wild hair, receiving a playful protest in response. “After dinner,” he said, getting to his feet. The blonde child followed, sitting himself at the kitchen table once they entered the room. “Mmmm....pot roast!! I can’t wait!,” Naruto cheered, sniffing the aromatic scent.

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Naruto clicked the flashlight on, propping himself up and opening the book. It was late at night, sometime after midnight. If Sasuke found him awake he’d be in trouble, possibly more for what he was reading. The boy turned the page, scanning the table of contents for what he was looking for. Finding it, he turned to page 30 and began reading the chapter titled ‘Puberty for Boys’. He was determined to learn all he could.

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“Sasuke....I’m bored.” One dark-haired nanny ignored the whine of the small blonde trailing after him as he shifted the box in his arms. “Sasuke!” “That’s nice and all, dobe but there’s nothing I can do about it,” Sasuke finally replied. Naruto pouted and scuffed his foot off the floor, watching as Sasuke entered the guest room. The raven placed the box on the bedroom floor, before straightening up again. “So these are the things from your house?,” the blonde asked, walking into the bedroom. “Condo,” Sasuke corrected. “And yes, they are.” Naruto peered into the box as his caretaker opened it, staring at the contents within. “I’m going back to the garage for the last box. Don’t get into any trouble,” Sasuke said, exiting the room. Naruto looked up momentarily, before returning to the box. “Okay,” he mumbled, though he knew the raven couldn’t hear his reply.

As his hands were buried into the box, sifting through the different clothes and random objects, a strange noise filled the room. The blonde looked about confusingly for a moment, trying to decipher where the sound was coming from. A black coat hanging on the post of the bed seemed to be shivering. Dropping the book he was holding back into the box, Naruto stepped toward the shaking coat. Just as his fingers touched the fabric the shaking and sound stopped. The sudden silence dazed him for a moment. The blonde searched the pockets, pulling out Sasuke’s cellphone just as the mobile device began ringing again. Naruto exited the room, still carrying the phone, and looked over the banister to the floor below. There was no sign of his nanny, so the child knew that the Uchiha was still in the garage. Wondering what to do, Naruto walked back into the guest bedroom, sitting himself on the mattress.

The phone went quiet again, and a few moments later it began to ring. Making up his mind, Naruto flipped the Razor opened and put the receiver to his ear. “Happy Birthday Otouto,” a man said on the other line. Naruto furrowed his brow. “What’s an Otouto?,” he asked. The man fell quiet for a moment, the static the only noise between them. “I apologize. I must have dialed the wrong number.” Naruto shook his head, though he knew the guy couldn’t see. “I don’t think you did,” Naruto replied. “If you were trying to get this cell then you have the right number.” Itachi quirked an eyebrow as the young child spoke on the phone, smirking slightly. “I see,” he answered. “And what, may I ask, is your name?” Naruto grinned and quipped into the mouth piece, “My name’s Naruto Uzumaki. And don’t you forget it.” Itachi chuckled lightly on the other end. “Well, Naruto-kun, I’m afraid I must be going now. It was nice talking to you. Goodbye.” “Bye,” the blonde chirped, flipping the phone shut as he heard the other man hang up.

At that moment, Sasuke strode into the room, placing the box he had in his arms beside the other one on his floor. He looked at the blonde boy sitting there innocently on his bed. “What did you do now, dobe?,” he asked warily. Naruto pouted. “I didn’t do anything,” he insisted. Sasuke rolled his eyes, opening the second box before him. “Hey, Sasuke?” The nanny ‘hn-ed’ a response, not tearing away from the box. “I was wondering...what does ‘Otouto’ mean?” Naruto seated himself beside the raven, gazing back into midnight orbs that turned to face him. “It means little brother....why?” Now Sasuke was interested. Where had the small child learned that word from? He knew he never said it. “Oh, no reason,” Naruto grinned. The blonde got to his feet, walking to the door before he stopped and turned back around. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke’s neck, leaning forward so he could view the side of the dark-haired man’s face. As soon as that was accomplished, he planted a kiss on the pale cheek, bouncing back and out of the room. “Happy Birthday, Sasuke!!”

Sasuke gazed at the empty doorway, a blush making its way on his cheeks as he thought about the kiss. ‘But how did the dobe know it was my birthday?’ Sasuke was brought out of his thoughts as his cell began to ring. Getting up, he moved to his bed and picked the Razor up, flipping the phone open with a sigh after reading the caller ID. “Happy birthday, Otouto.” “What do you want now, Aniki?,” Sasuke asked. Itachi tsk-ed him from the other line, a smirk arising in the older Uchiha’s tone. “Dear little brother, pedophilia is very much illegal in America, don’t you know?” Sasuke blushed crimson, mostly in indignation and somewhat because of his dirty little secret. “I-I’m not a pedophile,” he hissed into the phone. Itachi didn’t reply, but Sasuke could just hear the ‘suuuuuure’ his older brother was saying in his mind. “If that’s true, who was that pleasant little boy that answered earlier?” Sasuke glanced out of his bedroom door. So that’s how Naruto found out. “Well?,” asked his brother. “H-he’s my charge. I’m working as a-a nanny,” Sasuke grumbled into the phone, embarrassed. The line went silent again, and Sasuke glared at the mobile device. “Itachi, if you’re fucking laughing I’ll kick your ass!!,” the raven yelled.

A gentle little snort came through the receiver and Sasuke growled. “Itachi.....” His older sibling coughed for a moment before speaking again. “W-well, I guess I’ll talk to you next time Otouto. Take care, and happy birthday!” With that, Itachi hung up, sounding a little too cheerful if you asked Sasuke. Grumbling still, the youngest Uchiha hung up and left the room. Downstairs he went, finding the tanned boy in the kitchen, staring at the calendar hanging on the wall. Sasuke stared at it too, noticing the ‘Sasuke’s b-day’ written in big red letters on July’s twenty-third. “Well, birthday boy. What do you want to eat?” Sasuke turned his eyes to Naruto, smirking at the grinning blonde. It was too late to undo the kid’s knowledge of his birthday, so the raven figured might as well let the child have his fun. “Whatever you wish, dobe.”

Chapter 7

“Saaaa-suke!!” The raven buried himself behind the newspaper, trying to ignore the aggravated whining of his tanned charge. His dark eyes took in the page, jumping back once he realized his nose was inches away from the bust of a dolled up blonde. “Sasuke, I’m bored!” Sasuke stomped out the chills that ran down his spine from his near run-in with paper boobies, turning to the pouting blonde. “You’re always bored, dobe,” he pointed out, putting the paper down. Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and fixed his best glare on his nanny. “That’s not the point! It’s August and I haven’t done much but shoot you with my supersoaker and go to the library. I want to go out!!,” the child declared. Sasuke stood up from the kitchen table, picking up the breakfast dishes and walking to the sink. “Then go outside,” Sasuke said, a smirk spreading across his face.

Naruto only pouted more. “But Saaaa-sukeeee.....” “Don’t whine,” Sasuke sighed. “It’s annoying.” This testament only encouraged the small child further. “Saaa-sukeeee.....Saaa-sukeeee.....Saaa-sukeeee......Saaa-sukeeeeee....” The raven fled from the kitchen- he denied that he ran- and into the living room, the blonde following closely on his heels. “Saaa-sukeee.....oh, Saaa-sukeeee.....Saaa-sukeeee....,” on and on, Naruto continued to whine his caretaker’s name, chasing after the Uchiha when the older male tried to escape. Three rooms later and he still couldn’t shake the little blue-eyed twerp! Sasuke, with a headache approaching and fast, plopped himself down onto the staircase, resting his throbbing head in his hands. “Saa-sukeeee.....” “OK, I give!! Just, just stop whining!”

Naruto grinned cheekily as his nanny finally succumbed to his efforts, and sat himself into the raven’s lap. Ignoring the pink dust that highlighted the pale cheeks, the blonde looked straight into the Uchiha’s coal eyes and cleared his throat. “I want to go to the beach. Can we go, Sasuke? Pleeeeee-ase,” Naruto added, whining the last bit once he noticed the raven beginning to deny his request. The whining sealed the deal, as a still blushing Sasuke rubbed at his sore temple. “Fine already! Go get your things.” Naruto jumped to his feet, bolting up the stairs. A thought struck him as he reached the top landing, and he spun back around. “Hey, Sasuke...you’re going to come swimming with me, right?” The nanny looked up the stairs, fixing irritated orbs on the golden boy. “What makes you think I’m gonna-,” Sasuke cut himself short when he saw the blonde’s mouth open again. “O-okay, I’ll go swimming. But I don’t think I have any trunks.....,” the raven said.

Naruto frowned at this, and pondered on what to do. “Oh, I know!,” the child exclaimed as an idea came to him. “How ‘bout you borrow a pair of my dad’s?” Sasuke looked as if he rather not, but he said nothing, just got to his feet and trudged up the stairs to join the bubbly male. Naruto, buzzing with barely contained excitement, rushed about grabbing things essential to any day at the beach. He filled his dad’s duffle bag full, leaving the heavy lifting to Sasuke. The two clambered into Arashi’s car, and soon after were heading off.

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Sasuke was wondering what could have possibly slipped his mind when he agreed to take the blonde to the beach. Obviously he hadn’t added into the equation that beaches usually were flooding with people in the summer, and that included hot, hormone-driven females. Pushing past another mob of bikini clad sluts -he couldn’t think anything else of them- Sasuke walked quickly across the steaming sand, searching for a short blonde head. Well that was a really stupid idea seeing as there were multitudes of children running about, most of them with blonde hair. ‘Okay, time to switch tactics.’ Sasuke ignored another set of girls heading his way, side-stepping his way to the ice cream stand. “Stupid idiot....calling his name would be pointless. Should of put a tracer on him....” Too busy in his own musings, and blatantly ignoring the woman cashier, Sasuke failed to notice the blonde that came up to his side. “Who needs a tracer now?,” Naruto asked, arching an eyebrow at the dark-haired male. Who knew insanity happened so young?

Sasuke stared disbelieving down at the blonde child, frowning a second after. “Stop taking off, dobe,” he said. Naruto sighed and turned on his heel. “I’m not the one taking off. Your fangirls keep blocking my way.” Sasuke took the fact in but refused to reply to the comment. The two walked across the crowded beach, their destination unknown. When the she-devil hordes rose up once again to meet the raven, Sasuke was quick to grab Naruto’s hand. The simple action caused the females to pause for a second in shock and confusion, giving the duo a chance to escape. After walking around for a few minutes more, Naruto was getting annoyed and he was sure the soles of his feet were blistered by now. “Sasuke, my feet hurt. Are we ever gonna sit down somewhere?”

The raven didn’t answer him at first, but after a moment replied. “No.” Naruto rolled his eyes at the response. “Okay, fine. In that case.....” The blonde grinned wickedly, ripping his hand out of Sasuke’s and tearing off into the dark green waves. “Naruto!” Sasuke took off after the blonde, diving into the water as soon as it was deep enough so as to close some distance between him and his charge. The blonde noticed this and ducked beneath the murky waters, low enough that Sasuke swam over him without noticing. With his blue orbs stinging against the swirling waters, Naruto watched the blurry image of Sasuke swim further ahead of him. And that’s when he noticed it. Sasuke broke through the surface, blinking water out of his eyes as he looked around him. Where had the dobe gone? The nanny continued to look around him, somewhat dazed. Standing up, Sasuke began to walk back to shore. A peal of giggles caught his attention, and the Uchiha turned in the direction it was coming from.

A large mound of rock stood in the middle of the water, connected to the shore by a small trail of boulders behind it. Swimming to the boulder was none other than Naruto. The raven glared at the boy, wading through the water to the child. As he walked closer, the water rose lower and lower until it was just under his belly button. Naruto was still laughing, swimming backwards and away from him, but this time the blonde spoke. “I wouldn’t come any closer if I were you. Unless you want to be seen without these!” Naruto lifted an arm out of the water and in his fist were a pair of navy blue swimming trunks. “Why would-,” Sasuke shut his mouth, feeling his hips before he realized that his shorts were missing. ‘When did that happen!!’ Turning back to the blonde, Sasuke could see the child was swimming once more for the rock, the blonde’s back to him and shorts held up high in the air. “Hey, my shorts!!,” Sasuke shouted, blushing madly. “Dobe, get back here! Right now!!” Naruto ignored him, climbing up the rock now, laughing continuously still.

Sinking into the water until it was up to his chin, Sasuke warily swam over to the little island, glaring at the tanned child as he did. Once he was close enough, Sasuke hid himself behind the rock’s shadow and out of plain sight from the shore before getting to his feet again. “Naruto...give me those shorts!” Naruto smiled down on the raven, shaking his head. In Sasuke’s mind he had perfect view of the sun-kissed flesh, water dripping languidly down the soft chest and blonde spikes. The gentle lips pulled into a smile, and the blush of merriment across the whiskered cheeks had the raven’s heart racing, and causing heat to pool into his groin. A small groan slipped past his lips, and Sasuke turned away from the blonde, staring into the water to see his stiff cock. ‘ShitShitShitShitShitShitShit!!’ “Sasuke?” The raven didn’t dare to look back up, just pressed himself against the rock in an effort to hide his erection. “D-dobe...give me the shorts,” Sasuke demanded, hand raising into the air.

The raised arm gave Naruto the chance to see what Sasuke was hiding from him. It worried him that Sasuke was acting so shy. Was his nanny possibly injured? The curious blue eyes searched his caretaker’s body, finding nothing until they settled on the raven’s barely concealed hard-on, just peeking out of the water. Naruto blushed crimson, and quickly offered over the shorts. “S-sor-orry,” the blonde stuttered. A whistle tore out through the beach, and the blonde spun about on the rock to see two life guards facing in their direction. One was already in the water, swimming in their direction. “Umm....S-sasuke, we’ve got company...” Naruto turned back around to look at his nanny to find the pale man already managed to get his shorts on, and was fixing him with a glare. “Come on, dobe. Off.” Naruto obeyed without a sound, jumping off the rock and into the water, splashing the raven in the process. The child re-surfaced just as the lifeguard made it to them, fixing them both with a fierce glare. “Come on, you two. Follow me.”

The two swam after the lifeguard, trudging up the beach and toward the Lifeguard Office. Bystanders watched with mild interest, wondering what the man and child had done. Once in the safety of the air-conditioned office, the lifeguard rounded on the pair frowning distastefully at them. “I should turn you into the cops for indecent exposure and to a child no else. Take a seat and I’ll give them a call.” Sasuke did as the man said, not liking where this was going. “Do you know where you’re parents are kid? Would you like me to take you to them?” The guy was acting a bit more pleasant now, but Naruto shook his head anyways. “Sir, my dad’s in Iraq and my mom’s dead. Sasuke is my nanny,” the blonde pointed to his raven-haired partner, keeping his sky orbs on the lifeguard. “Sir, please don’t get him in trouble. It was all my fault. I took his shorts as a prank.”

The lifeguard looked as if he didn’t believe the short kid, but finally he stood straight up, walking behind a desk and taking a seat. “I see.....either way I’m going to have to ban you both from all beaches in the area for the remainder of the summer. Prank or not, we do not tolerate nudity on a family beach.” Sasuke nodded his head in understanding, Naruto stared down at his sand-covered feet. The raven stood up, moving to the blonde and grabbing the slip of paper the lifeguard held out for him, before leaving the office. They headed back to the car, Sasuke popping open the rear door and pulling out the blue duffle bag. He handed the blonde a towel, getting himself one and drying as best as he could. “I hope your satisfied,” Sasuke said, getting behind the wheel. Naruto got in beside him, not saying a word. Sasuke stuck the key into the ignition, turning the engine on and letting the cool air from the air conditioning wash over him.

They sat like that for a minute or two, not moving anywhere. Sasuke looked over at the blonde who still hadn’t said anything, obsidian eyes taking in the boy’s crumpled form. The raven let out a gentle sigh, reaching over he grabbed the child’s opposite shoulder pulling the kid over to him as far as the seat belt would allow. He buried his face in the damp spikes, breathing in the scent of daffodils and lake water, kissing the top of the crown. Sasuke held the blonde like that for a moment longer before letting the boy go. “You’re not to blame. Don’t cry,” was all the raven said, pulling out of the parking lot. He missed the small smile that emerged under two tear drops.

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Naruto curled under his blanket, shivering in fright as another flash of lightening filled his room followed by a rumble of thunder. The wind was howling madly outside of his window, heavy raindrops pounding against the pane. The blonde poked his head out from the sheets, staring out the window, ducking back under with a squeak as lightening scored the dark night sky again. He clutched to Gama-chan tightly, pressing his face into the green plushie. The child had been doing his nightly reading, and had begun to finally drift off to sleep when the storm broke out. Ever since he was really young, Naruto had been terrified of storms. He wasn’t really sure why but he just was. The blonde jumped again as thunder banged above his head. Kicking in panic, Naruto scrambled out of his bed and hurried out of his room, frog plushie crushed in his arms. The storm continued to rage outside, making Naruto’s knees shake in fear as he rushed into his dad’s bedroom.

“Daddy....” Naruto had made it all the way to the side of the four-post bed before common sense clicked in and he remembered that his dad wasn’t here at the moment. He was in Iraq and couldn’t possibly comfort his son. Wiping away the tears that rose in his eyes, Naruto scampered back down the hall, making his way to his nanny’s room. “Sasuke...?,” the blonde whispered, opening the door. He peered into the dark room, taking in the unmoving form of the sleeping raven. Lightening flashed again, and heart racing, the boy hurried into the room, stopping by the bedside. “S-sasuke...?” Despite the storm outside and his calls, the Uchiha still wouldn’t wake up. Leaning over, Naruto studied his caretaker’s face, his own fear forgotten momentarily. The raven’s face brow was furrowed making him look almost distressed, his lips parted slightly as gentle pants came out.

‘Is Sasuke sick?,’ Naruto wondered. Climbing into bed, the blonde sat down on his nanny’s lap, reaching over and placing a hand on the dark-haired man’s forehead. “It doesn’t feel like he has a fever....,” the child mumbled to noone in particular. Another groan came from Sasuke, something hard rising up under Naruto. The blonde stayed put, confused at the hardness, before he remembered certain things he’d read in the book that night; things that made him blush. The child moved back, going to get off the bed before he was caught, when two hands gripped his waist, rolling him over and partially under his nanny’s body. Naruto blushed more, his heart beating a mile a minute as he tried to squirm out of Sasuke’s grip. The unknowing raven had rolled over with the blonde in the process, pressing his larger body into the smaller one. Naruto eventually gave up -Sasuke’s grip was too strong- seeing the situation not so bad.

The child cuddled up against the raven’s chest, intent on finally catching some shut eye when he felt Sasuke cup him closer. A sigh made its way out of the kid’s lips as his groin met the adult’s, his nanny’s erection still prominent. Naruto clung tightly to Sasuke’s night shirt as the older man began to grind into him, the raven’s face buried deep into his blonde tresses. Everything was fuzzy and warm, and it felt like he was flying as he whispered the dark-haired male’s name. Suddenly the floaty feeling disappeared, leaving behind the after effects of dazing warmth that was slowly escaping him. Still the raven’s hips continued to move against the tanned boy’s, until too Sasuke stopped, a small sigh slipping past his lips. “Naruto....” The blonde went rigid with fright, and pushed himself away from his caretaker’s chest to look into the pale face. The fear left him once the child realized that the raven was still asleep, but he removed himself away from Sasuke anyways, slipping off the bed and hurrying back to his own room.

The storm had calmed a bit since he was in the Uchiha’s room, the child noted, and he closed his door quietly. The front of his pants were damp and made him feel uncomfortable. The tanned kid peeled off his soiled pajama bottoms, putting on a pair of clean boxers. He quietly moved about his room, still pondering what had occurred in his caretaker’s room as he pulled the Puberty book out from under his mattress. Clicking his spider-man flashlight on, Naruto thumbed through the pages to the spot he had left off at last. Wiping sleep from his eyes, the blonde began to read the page before he stopped short, blushing madly. “S-sasuke.....had a w-wet dream...? Ab-bout me...?” The information sunk in, making the child turn lobster red at the implications, but still he smiled and felt his heart soar. Sasuke.....he really did like him! Naruto slipped the book back into its original spot, putting the flashlight aside and climbing under his sheets. He felt strangely tired even despite the small rumbles of thunder breaking outside his window.

Something came to mind, just as the blonde drifted off to sleep. “I....left Gama-chan......in....Sasuke’s....room....,” he whispered before he went out.

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Who knew the summer could past by so fast? It was the last week of August now, then school would be starting again. Naruto contemplated what the new school year would be like as he ate lunch. Today Sasuke had made lasagne and it was the best thing the blonde had ever eaten. Across the table from him, the raven was sipping at his coffee, his plate already cleared. Naruto blushed as he thought back to the first week of August when he had snuck into Sasuke’s room during that thunderstorm. The nanny had no idea what had happened the night before, and was confused as to why the child’s frog doll was in his room, nearly kicked under the bed. Pushing it aside as Naruto leaving his things around, the relationship between the two had continued on as normal with one little exception of course. A week after that night, another storm hit their area, frightening the blonde once more. Again, Naruto hurried to Sasuke’s room but this time the raven was already awake. The Uchiha let the blonde clamber into bed with him, though he struggled to fight down the hard-on that dared to show with the child’s close proximity.

While Naruto was lost in thought, busy scarfing down his portion of lasagne, Sasuke put down an empty coffee cup and gazed at the blonde. He too was thinking about the night when he let the child sleep in his bed, but more so he was thinking about how things had somewhat escalated now because of it, it seemed. Naruto seemed to be more....cuddly than he had when the raven had first taken the job. He knew it was wrong and that he should probably scold the boy, but Sasuke never did. In all honesty he craved the attention that the blonde was giving him, and it terrified him that he might eventually want more. And it didn’t help that Naruto was constantly sneaking into his bed at night. Getting to his feet, the Uchiha tried to push those things out of his mind, but it seemed impossible. His love and want for the tanned child was growing and it didn’t seem to plan stopping any time soon. Naruto came up beside him, lunch dishes in his hands. “Whatcha doing Sasuke?,” the boy asked.

Sasuke didn’t say anything, only took the dishes from the child’s golden hands and put the dishes in the sink. “Sasuke? Are we gonna do anything today?” The raven shook his head and ruffled the blonde spikes, wishing he could just leave his hands in the tangled golden threads. “Come on, Chef Ramsay should be on in a minute. Care to join me?” Naruto beamed at the prospect and skipped to the living room without a moments hesitation. The blonde changed the channel for them, sitting down on the couch to wait for Sasuke. One of the things the child noticed was that his nanny was changing. The Uchiha was nicer, was a better cook and he cleaned really well too. Sasuke took his place on the couch, Naruto scootching over and cuddling into his caretaker’s side. The blonde could nearly hear the other’s heartbeat and it gave him a soaring feeling.

The duo watched the screen, Naruto breaking out into little giggles when the chef got angry and began swearing at everyone. Sasuke watched him with a calculating eye, smiling when the child laughed. At the second commercial, Sasuke began to run his fingers through the blonde’s messy hair. “Naruto,” he began. The child raised his head to look at the raven. “Tomorrow, let’s go shopping for your back-to-school things. Alright?” Naruto grinned up at him. “Sure,” he replied in a chipper voice. Sasuke smirked at the silly boy, both turning their attention back to the television as Chef Ramsay came back onto the screen in a flurry of insulting cuss words.

Chapter 8

“No way in HELL!”, Sasuke hissed from behind the stall, folding his arms against his chest. A sigh came from the other side of the door, where his charge stood. “Sasuke, I know you don’t like public places but locking yourself in a washroom stall’s not going to get you out of shopping!,” Naruto replied exasperatedly. The raven only folded his arms against his chest, glaring at the porcelain toilet in front of him. “Sure it will,” he answered back. Naruto shifted the items on his arms, ignoring the rude look an older man gave him as he exited the washroom. The blonde knew that unpurchased items weren’t allowed into the washrooms to reduce the amount of thefts but he wasn’t just about to abandon the items they had managed to gather so far just because his nanny was having a tantrum. ‘And he’s supposed to be the mature one’, the child thought hotly.

“Come on Sasuke, we only need a few more things. Then we can go home.” His tan fists knocked on the blue stall door, trying to get his caretaker’s attention. “I’m not going out there. It-it’s a madhouse!” Naruto rose an eyebrow at the raven’s tone, just bordering on hysterical. “Oh, come on Sasuke. You’re just being ridiculous,” the blonde said, striding over to the bathroom sinks. The lock clicked and the Uchiha stuck his head out of the stall. “I’m being ridiculous, me?! I had my ass pinched! And slapped! Not once, not twice, but thirty different times! Don’t tell me I’m being ridiculous!!,” the raven shouted. Oh yeah, he was definitely hysterical and possibly in shock. Was that his eye twitching? Naruto shook his head, trying to quell the giggles that rose at his nanny’s disheveled appearance. Turning around, he scurried over and grabbed Sasuke’s hand before the raven could escape back into the stall. “Come on, Sasuke. I only need a binder and pencil case. You can last five more minutes, can’t you?”

The child led his caretaker out of the store’s restrooms, not caring if the man was well or not. The fox-like blonde didn’t want to hang around the mall all day himself. It’d be better for both of them to quickly finish their shopping and get out of there. They were able to walk casually for the first few meters before they came up to the bottom end of the crowds. “I’m not walking through that,” Sasuke said, gazing at the writhing mass. He swore he could see a poor soul struggling to get off of the floor. Naruto nodded his head, wincing when he saw an employee get clipped in the face with a women’s purse. “See any exits?,” he asked. The raven tilted his chin, looking both ways over the crowds. Finishing his scan, he fixed his gaze on the blonde at his side. “There’s a narrow path leading down the children’s toys, next to the escalators. We should be able to find a clearer lane downstairs,” he stated. The blue-eyed child nodded in understanding, beginning to walk in the direction the Uchiha had mentioned. A tug on his arm halted him.

Looking back, Naruto locked gazes with the older male’s obsidian orbs, the dark eyebrows arched in annoyance. “Where do you think you’re going?,” the nanny asked. The child gave his caretaker a disbelieving look, before answering, “Downstairs, like you suggested.” Sasuke shook his head. “You’re not walking through this jungle.” “Then what do you expect me to do, huh?,” the blonde retorted. Sasuke turned his back to the child, kneeling on the ground. Naruto stared at the raven’s clothed back, confused if his nanny was doing what he thought he was doing. “Just get on, would you,” Sasuke snapped after a moment. Coming back down to Earth, Naruto scrambled to get on the Uchiha’s back, wrapping his arms around the pale neck. Sasuke’s pale fingers tugged lightly at his wrists, and the blonde wondered if the nanny had changed his mind about the piggy-back. “Give me the stuff, dobe. I don’t want items banging against my chest as I walk.” The child pulled the bags holding the items off, handing them to Sasuke’s outstretched hands, before regaining his grip. The raven shifted the items around, before snaking his arms up and under the blonde’s legs, drawing the smaller body snug against his backside. This made both males blush, as Sasuke got to his feet and strode off in the direction of the escalators.

True to his theory, the downstairs checkout lanes were significantly less occupied as the ones upstairs, due to the fact that the upstairs led immediately outside to the parking lot. “Hey Sasuke...,” Naruto began, once he’d been put down and watching the items get scanned. “Hmm.” “I’m still missing a binder and a pencil case.” Sasuke looked like he was about to snap and commit a mass-mall murder. Wisely, the child stepped back. “T-that’s ok, we can always get them some other time. I mean, I’ve got my old ones right?” That seemed to calm the raven again, and Naruto couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Sasuke could be really scary at times. Paying for the purchases, Sasuke gathered their bags and hurried out of the store, blonde in tow. He couldn’t wait to get back to the child’s house, sit down and have a nice strong coffee. Honestly, what had he been thinking? The beach was one thing, but back-to-school shopping, on the last week of August?! He needed a cat scan or something. Sasuke pulled himself out of his musings as something began to tug at the tails of his shirt, and he looked down to see Naruto’s tan fingers curled around the fabric. “Sasuke.....can I get an ice-cream cone?” The raven wanted to refuse but the blue orbs were so wanting, and they were nearly out of the mall.... “Why the hell not?,” he sighed, walking over to the little ice-cream parlor mashed between Zellers and a Fugifilm shop.

The child skipped over giddily, shouting to the cashier in his boisterous voice that he wanted a vanilla and chocolate swirl cone. The young man at register smiled at the beaming child, quickly getting his cone and handing it to the waiting blonde. Naruto dug into his ice-cream immediately, as Sasuke maneuvered the bags around to pull out his wallet. The cashier didn’t mind waiting, there was noone else in the shop since it was the last week of August anyways. He took the raven’s money, handing him his change and gave the cold man a smile. “You and your son have a good day, sir!,” the cashier said, waving the two off. Sasuke had half a mind to correct the guy’s misconception but he was too tired to care. “Come on, dobe,” he called to the distracted and lagging blonde, exiting the mall. The two worked their way through the wave of cars, trying not to get hit though that seemed unlikely with all the other people that were dodging about to get to their own cars. Finally Sasuke reached the car, popped the trunk and chucked the loathsome things inside it, closing it and sliding into the driver’s seat. Naruto got in on his left, still lapping away at his rapidly melting cone. “Hold this for a sec,” the blonde told the Uchiha, pushing the cone into unobliging hands.

Sasuke glared at the ice-cream, disgustingly watching it as it continued to further melt, while his charge buckled himself in. A shiver ran down the pale man’s spine as a trail of light brown milk dribbled down onto his first two fingers. Distracted by the nasty ice-cream, the raven was startled when the cone was removed from his hand but also very relieved. Still that left the ice-cream on his index and middle finger. Naruto, about to return to his cone noticed the disturbed expression of his nanny’s face and the ice-cream that had fallen onto the raven’s right hand. “Sorry, Sasuke. Let me get that.” The blonde grabbed the Uchiha’s hand, pink tongue peeking out to lap at the ice-cream drops. Sasuke felt a shiver again go down his spine, but this time of a different nature. Just as quickly as he had grabbed the older male’s hand, Naruto let go of the pale limb, sitting back in his seat and returning to his neglected cone. The raven stared gap-mouthed at the child, somewhat upset that the kid wasn’t showing any other reaction other than disinterest to the fact that he had just licked his nanny’s hand. Pushing his disappointment aside, and wiping the traces of saliva off with a spare napkin, Sasuke started the car and began the troublesome task of steering the vehicle safely out of the mall parking lot. When they got back home, he was having a really strong coffee.

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Sasuke lifted up his bed sheets, sliding under the material, shifting to get comfortable. Tonight he could rest in peace, without worry that Naruto would sneak into his bed. Coal eyes gazed at the red digits of his clock, displaying to him that it was quarter after one in the morning. The raven laid back on his pillow, pleased with himself. His three cups of really strong coffee at noon had given him such a buzz that he was just winding down now. Naruto, unfortunately wasn’t able to last that long, and had crashed on the couch shortly after the 11:00 o’clock news started. Now the child was tucked into his own bed, his frog plushie slipped between small arms. “Finally, I can get some sleep,” Sasuke yawned, rolling over to his side. The man quickly slipped into unconsciousness, his mind free of any worrying brought on by sharing the bed with the blonde child.

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Cerulean orbs blinked against the darkness, a tanned child sleepily sitting up in bed. Looking around him, the blonde noticed he was in his own room and felt unhappy at the thought. Yawning, Naruto slid out of his bed, padding over to the door. His hazy mind remembered that Gama-chan rested back on his bed, but the boy decided it was pointless to bring the doll with him. He’d be busy cuddling against Sasuke anyways. Naruto opened his door and slipped out of the room, tip-toeing down the hallway to the raven’s room. He opened the door and stared in puzzlement as the Uchiha sat up in bed, dark gaze fixed on him. “Sasuke?”

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Sasuke sat up in bed, staring at the blonde at his door. The child looked almost hesitant, but stepped forward nonetheless, closing the door behind him. The raven didn’t find this strange at all; all his dreams had started similar to this one, with Naruto coming to his bed at the dead of night. So what if the scenery for this dream was the room he was currently inhabiting while he looked after the Uzumaki? It didn’t make a difference in the end, all that was happening was a fabricated creation by his subconscious and bodily desires. The man shifted in bed, placing his feet flat on the floor so he could stare straight ahead at the blonde. Slowly, Naruto approached him, pink tinging the moonlit cheeks. Unknowns to him, the child was wondering why Sasuke was still awake and yet not even responding to his arrival like the raven usually did. Still, Naruto walked toward the older male, drawn in by the deep look echoing from beyond black eyes. Sasuke reached out once the blonde was close enough, pulling the child flush against him, pale fingers lightly treading through the yellow spikes. “Naruto,” he sighed, burying his nose into the golden hair, breathing deeply. Naruto sighed as well, wrapping small arms as best as he could around the raven’s torso, snuggling against Sasuke’s collarbone. “Sasuke....,” he whispered softly. The hand in his hair fell to the base of his neck, tipping the child’s head back as the nanny leaned in to capture the blonde’s lips. Naruto, surprised by the sudden action, did nothing to stop it and instead pressed deeper into the kiss.

The Uchiha let go of his lips seconds later, letting the tanned boy to catch his breath, while the raven descended onto his neck. Naruto mewled at the contact, the lightheadedness that he was becoming a little familiar with coming to him. Slightly cold fingers traced across the curves of his figure, making him shiver slightly, before the fingers began to undo the buttons on his blue pajamas. Naruto whined when the mouth detached itself from his jugular, swallowing his whine whole as the older man’s lips met his once again, Sasuke’s hands pulling the light fabric off of his chest. Naruto moved his mouth gently against Sasuke’s, pale palms running down his thighs as the raven proceeded to remove his bottoms. The blonde’s heart thrummed in his chest, making the entire experience nice so far. Sasuke pulled the kid into his lap, groaning into the smaller mouth as Naruto sat on his clothed erection, their naked chests melding together. “S-sasuke,” Naruto panted, clinging tightly to the raven. The Uchiha licked at the pink lips, moving his head away at a good enough distance so he could stare into the blonde’s sapphire orbs. “I want this, I want you dobe.... how much do you want this?” The golden child blushed at the deep tone his nanny was using, before smiled softly at the pale man. “Please, Sasuke.... it’s like flying, with you as my wings,” Naruto whispered, pecking the raven’s lips.

Pale hands gripped his forearms, holding the child in place as the man fell onto the boy’s lips hungrily. Naruto, blown away by Sasuke’s eagerness, could only receive the affection feeling as if he was running a race. Sasuke moved the blonde over to the bed, trailing away from the boy’s lips, across the jaw and again to the neck. Tan fingers wove through the midnight tresses, gripping into the raven’s scalp as Sasuke bit into the skin, making his mark on the blonde. The dark-haired man smirked as he listened to Naruto respond to his touch, his teeth and tongue dancing across the peach skin. “S-sas...Sasuke!!” Naruto arched as a warm tongue slid down his skin, circling around one of his nipples before it was taken into Sasuke’s mouth. The man sucked on the pink nub, causing mewls to fall from the child’s lips. This....this was so great! Everything was so warm and floaty, Naruto thought he could just sink into this cloud-like euphoria. A gentle rubbing started at his groin, moving in lazy circles that only made everything lighter in his eyes. “A-ahhh......” Naruto moaned as the mouth moved away, tracking down his chest, stopping at his hip bone. The wet muscle moved about languidly, before clamping on at his hip’s junction and giving a hard suck. Naruto felt himself harden, though he was confused about the strange stiffness. All he knew was that he wanted that mouth to go farther down; right where his body’s heat seemed to concentrate.

Sasuke pulled away, and Naruto blinked confusedly at the missing contact. The child watched with dazed eyes as the Uchiha stood up from the bed, sliding his own navy blue boxers off. The raven stood in the moonlight, unabashed at his nakedness, his erection standing prominent. The sight dazzled and awed the boy, making him feel even warmer inside. The thought that it was him that was making Sasuke hard like that was making him smile with delight. The raven returned to the mattress, leaning over the smaller body. His coal eyes absorbed the image before him, the delectable blonde already affected by their actions. Sasuke smirked, one hand moving to grip the child’s hand, the other slipping over the side of the bed. “You’re such an adorable dobe,” the raven spoke into Naruto’s ear, teasing the shell with a small kiss. Naruto shivered at the words, his head twisting to the side when he heard a strange noise. “S-sasu-?” Fingers pushed inside him, stretching him, rubbing him from inside. “O-oohh.....gg-od....” A trail of saliva slipped past his lips as his mouth opened wide, a deep groan crying out from his pink lips. The trespassing fingers delved even further, finding a small bundle of nerves that made the small blonde jump at the contact before again groaning. Sasuke leaned down and licked up the boy’s saliva, moving upward an inch to capture the pink lips in a searing kiss. Naruto clenched at Sasuke’s hair, rocking his body against the stiff digits.

“Pl-pleease.....S-sasu....keee....,”Naruto moaned out from behind the raven’s warm lips, begging to the older male. The pressure was building, and he had a feeling that the only way to get rid of it was to get more. Sasuke pulled back, staring into the little boy’s eyes. The blue jewels were half-lidded, burning with lust and true affection. He knew it was wrong, god the raven knew just how much trouble he’d be in if ever anyone found out......but this was alright. This was only a dream after all, even if Naruto was playing his role in a more realistic manner. Slowly he removed his fingers, and the gold child moaned in protest. The kid’s lustful expression and the beautiful dusting of blush, made Sasuke harder. He pried the boy’s fingers from his hair, resting the lithe form down onto the mattress. With careful self-control, the man sat himself between Naruto’s thighs, pushing his length inside the fox’s tight heat. Naruto gasped in pain and his hands flew to his eyes, clenching at the flesh as tears cascaded down his cheeks. This brought Sasuke out of his actions and he felt his fear and unease grow again as he tried to pull out of the boy’s entrance.

“N-nnooo...” Naruto grabbed his arm, looking at him with one tearful eye. “Pppleease....d-don’t.....” Sasuke sighed and leaned forward, softly kissing the boy. He had to remember...this was just a dream, just a dream and nothing more. “Dobe.....just hang on, okay? It’s going to hurt for a bit....” The blonde head nodded in understanding, relaxing under the larger form. Again the pain started, but it wasn’t as bad as first. Before long, Sasuke’s shaft was pushed in as far as it could go, and at the child’s word he began a slow rock. With each thrust the boy mewled and moaned, his sounds growing louder as sasuke got faster. Naruto bucked and writhed under the dark-haired man, arching into the tone chest when Sasuke brushed against his prostate a little more than usual. Pants and whines filled the bedroom, the bed creaking from the raven’s quickening thrusts. More and more, it felt so full. An engulfing heat, accompanied by a slick body beneath and above. Naruto’s eyes rolled in his head as he whined, pushing up farther against Sasuke’s cock as the man pound into him. He panted and begged, keened and grabbed at the stoic male’s body. Slender fingers wrapped around his wet erection, pumping him in time with the fastening thrusts, banging into the sensitive spot within him. “Haa...ahaaaa......” Molten heat pooled between Sasuke’s fingers, filling up quicker and quicker as his nanny shoved further inside him. “Ssasss.....unnghkkKAAAA!!” Sasuke thrust gently as the blonde came down from his euphoric high, the blue eyes darkening as heavy lids fell over them.

Slowly the man removed himself from the boy’s ass, his dick still erect and wanting more attention. The child was asleep, legs spread widely and cum splotched against his stomach. Sasuke positioned himself at the edge of the bed, grasping his swollen member. He arched into his fist, crying out gently as he came into his palm. Hunching over, the dark nanny paused to catch his breathe, turning his onyx eyes to the blonde angel. Shame washed over him, but more than anything his heart was pulsing madly as he watched the sleeping kid. “Stupid idiot, this is only a dream. It’s fine as long as you don’t do anything in reality,” Sasuke muttered, trying to rid himself of the irrational guilt. He grabbed the blanket and wrapped the boy up in it, watching in amusement as the child snuggled into the dark sheets. The raven laid himself down behind the blonde, resting an arm around the child’s waist. He had to admit though, this was possibly the best dream he’d had all month. It felt so very real. Sasuke smiled at his silliness, shifting to get more comfortable. Finally he closed his black eyes.

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The sunlight was making things appear red behind his eyelids, and annoyed that he had been awaken, Sasuke opened his eyes knowing he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep now. He raised his arms, stretching, sitting up in bed. The raven sat there, glaring at closet across the room, shaking the dregs of sleep from his mind. His thought process returning back to his normal function, he finally came to notice the warmth pressed against his side. Sasuke felt himself pale considerably as he turned to take in the object producing the extra heat, his stomach churning as he gazed at Naruto’s sleeping form, wrapped under a stained blue blanket. Panicking, the raven scrambled out of the bed, hurrying into the bathroom. He closed the door behind him, locking it and flipping on the switch. He was stunned, confused at what he’d woken up to. ‘H-how could I have....dear god, i-I slept with him...b-but...?’ Sasuke sat on the bathroom floor, ignoring the chill of the tiles against his naked butt. Realization dawned on him, and the raven thought he was going to be sick. “G-god....it wasn’t a dream....” Getting to his feet, he threw the shower curtain open, turning the water on and stepping under the frigid down spray.

Naruto stood outside the bathroom door, listening as the shower was turned on and his nanny entered the tub. The blonde had woken up shortly after Sasuke had bolted out of the room, and Naruto was sure of why the raven had panicked so. Still, Sasuke shouldn’t blame himself. The child gripped the bathroom knob, and lifted it slightly so that the lock clicked on the other side. The doorknob was broken like that, but only Naruto knew that. Entering the bathroom, the blonde walked to his nanny, wincing slightly with each step. His backside stung a lot, and he wondered why. Sasuke was trying to drown himself in the shower spray, so he didn’t react when the child came into the bathroom. He possibly didn’t even know the golden kid was awake. Naruto reached into the cold water and grasped at Sasuke’s arm. The older man jumped at the contact, and looked down, surprised to see the blue-eyed boy. “N-naruto....i-I’m sorry...I-.” Naruto shook his head, cutting off the raven’s apology. “Don’t apologize Sasuke. It was my choice....I wanted you to-,” Naruto paused, blushing madly, unable to finish his sentence. “B-but, still! It’s not your fault, I urged you on. S-so, don’t blame yourself Sasuke, please!” The dark-haired male broke off the gaze, a small pink tinge to his cheeks. “D-dobe...”

Naruto smiled, limping away to get a towel for his caretaker. “Don’t fret, ok Sasuke? It’ll be our secret, so you won’t get in trouble.” Sasuke shook his head. The guilt and shame within him wasn’t going to fade just because Naruto said it was ok. But it did ease the pain somewhat. The raven took the towel, wrapping it around his waist. “This isn’t something we can keep secret,” he stated, turning off the shower. “We will!,” the blonde shouted, stopped then started again; softer. “If you tell someone, then you’ll have to go away. You’ll get in trouble for something that was my fault. I won’t let you do that Sasuke. It wouldn’t be fair!!” Sasuke ruffled the gold spikes, smiling at the child, touched by his concern. “I’ll keep it a secret for now....but that means you won’t be able to go outside or near the windows for a week.” Naruto looked at Sasuke confusingly, sitting beside the raven on the edge of the tub. “Why not?” The Uchiha blushed more, refusing to look his charge in the eye. “B-because eight year olds don’t get c-covered in hi-hickeys,” he stuttered. The blonde looked at himself, then blushed as well, before grinning madly. “Alright, I’ll do that. Besides, it’s ok. ‘Cause these show how much Sasuke loves me, and how much I love him too!” Sasuke’s cheeks burned at the child’s words, but his heart couldn’t deny the fact that indeed he loved the little blonde and it felt wonderful knowing the boy felt the same.

Chapter 9

“.....Naruto?”

The blonde grinned up at Sasuke, hand scratching at the back of his head. His nanny only narrowed his eyes, not impressed with the child’s smiles. “Dobe, you’re covered in scrapes. Why?” Naruto took his shoes off, walking to the kitchen. “No reason,” the blonde replied. Sasuke trailed behind. “You don’t get bruised up out of thin air, Naruto,” the raven frowned. “Up on the counter.” Naruto pouted at the dark-haired male, jumping up onto the counter top as ordered, shifting about until he was comfortable. His nanny pulled out the first-aid kit then walked over to his charge. The two were silent as Sasuke pulled out the antiseptic and poured some on to a piece of paper towel.

“Your school called,” Sasuke began, applying the antiseptic to nasty scrape on the blonde’s knee to which he was rewarded with a hiss. He put a band-aid onto the wound, throwing the paper towel out along with the garbage, grabbing another piece and pouring some antiseptic on it. “They told me you were in a fight,” the raven continued. “I didn’t believe them, but obviously I was wrong.” Naruto grinned, grinding his teeth when his caretaker applied the liquid to the scrape on his cheek. “Ow... hey, I’m not so bad,” Naruto said, trying to humor the moment. Sasuke glared, putting a bandage over the cheek, before standing up straight again. The blonde continued to sit there, looking at his nanny.

“I’ll be going to your school tomorrow afternoon for a meeting with your principal. You’re in danger of being suspended for fighting,” the raven said, gazing down at the child. Naruto blushed in shame and turned his head down. “Sorry,” he mumbled. The raven sighed, tilting the child’s head up and placing a chaste kiss on the pink lips. “Are you going to tell me what little brat did this to you, now?,” the older male asked, moving to put the first-aid kit away. Naruto, still blushing from the kiss, jumped down from the counter. He thought back to school today, about the other boy that had started the fight with him. The kid was new, and was a year older than him but had failed a year so the boy had been placed in the blonde’s class. Naruto hadn’t cared that the other had failed a year (he had a couple close calls himself) and was excited at the chance of making a new friend.

The new kid- Gaara as Iruka had addressed him- was very anti-social though. The red-head wouldn’t talk or even acknowledge anyone else, so after the first couple days people started to avoid him. But Naruto was stubborn and he desperately wanted to be this kid’s friend. Kiba couldn’t understand this and constantly complained about it, saying the blonde should just leave Gaara alone if that’s what he wanted. “He’s not nice, Naruto. Besides he wears that black stuff around his eyes.... it makes him look like a raccoon,” the dog-lover told his friend. But Naruto brushed the comment off and continued to pursue Gaara in hopes of becoming the red-head’s friend.

After a week of having no success, let alone a reaction come from the stoic child, did today bring some results. True, they weren’t the results that Naruto had hoped for but getting into that fight with Gaara couldn’t have been better. Now he knew the green-eyed boy knew of his existence and was bothered enough to tackle the blonde. So, was he going to tell Sasuke about Gaara when his nanny looked ready to take blood? No, he decided he wasn’t going to. He was going to keep quiet about Gaara; he didn’t want to other boy to get into any more trouble. “Well?,” Sasuke asked, bringing the small child up out of his thoughts. Naruto blinked, then grinned broadly, shaking his head. “Nope,” he said, skipping out of the kitchen. “Naruto,” the raven called but the blonde didn’t respond back, just flopped himself down onto the couch in the living room and turned the t.v on. Besides, his show was on.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sasuke spent the day patiently cleaning up around the house, waiting for the time that he would have to go to Naruto’s school to have that meeting with the blonde’s principal. When 2:30 rolled around, Sasuke grabbed the car keys and drove off to the fox-child’s school. The raven parked in the school’s parking lot, and was about to get out when a little blonde ran up to the side of his vehicle. “Sasuke!!” The dark-haired nanny smirked as his charge stopped at the car’s door, the blonde boy smiling brightly up at him. But then his eyes noticed the small purple bruise forming at the edge of the child’s lip and his smirk faded. Naruto stepped back so the raven could get out of the car, but immediately attached himself to the raven’s hip.

“Come on Sasuke! I want to show you my classroom before we see the principal,” the blonde chirped. Sasuke let himself be led by the child, up to the school’s entrance where they paused momentarily as Naruto said his good-byes to an equally short brunette getting onto one of the school’s parked buses. Then they entered the school, and the raven was brought down the halls to classroom 09, into which they entered. Naruto left his nanny standing at the doorway and ran over to his desk to show his caretaker the work he had done that day. Sasuke couldn’t help but smiled at the blonde’s bubbliness, and affectionately ruffled the golden spikes once Naruto returned to his side. “Dobe, we need to go see your principal now,” Sasuke stated, glancing at the classroom’s clock. Naruto too, looked at the time and came back over, grabbing the pale man’s hand. “Alright, off we go!,” the child cheered.

The two made their way back to the front of the school, stepping into the office. The secretary greeted them and led the two males to the Principal’s office where they sat down in two of the four awaiting chairs. A couple minutes passed before they were joined by an older male in his early forties with short brown hair, a small red-head child with green eyes by his side, and an elderly male with a small white beard. The elderly male sat behind the large mahogany desk and introduced himself as Principal Sarutobi, smiling at each of them kindly. Sasuke cast black orbs on the young red-head that had beat up his charge, noticing the tiny scrapes that covered his cheek. Sasuke almost smirked at the image; it seemed Naruto had fought back quite well. The raven’s attention was caught when Sarutobi began to speak, clearly explaining the rules about fighting and whatnot, explaining that he was letting both children off with a warning since it was only the beginning of the new school year.

Sasuke nodded his head in understanding, his eyes constantly flickering to the blonde swinging his feet at his side. Quarter to four, their meeting was adjourned and Sarutobi got up and personally shook each of their hands. “Now, boys I expect you both to get along from now on, understand?,” Sarutobi asked, bending slightly to look each child in the eye. Naruto nodded his head and shouted a clear, “Yep!” while the turquoise eyed child only nodded in response. The principal smiled, holding open the office door for the others. “Have a good evening, gentleman,” the old man said to them as they exited. Sasuke watched as the brunette and his son walked off, before his attention was caught by the blonde at his side. “Sasuke, can I have a piggy-back? Please!?,” Naruto asked. Sasuke rose an eyebrow at the child, but bent down nonetheless, waiting as he felt the kid scramble onto his back before straightening up.

“Hey, Sasuke? Can we go to Burger king, I’m really hungry?” The raven smirked. “Alright dobe, we’ll go. Though I don’t think little juveniles deserve hamburgers and sodas. More like they need brussel sprouts,” Sasuke joked. Naruto made a gagging sound, wrapping tan arms around his nanny’s neck. “I hate brussel sprouts! Their the rejects of the vegetable world!,” the blonde stated. The pale male snorted at that, pushing through the school’s double doors. “Whatever, dobe.” The two -well, really one- circled around the school, heading to the parking lot. “Sasuke....what’s that noise?” Sasuke never noticed anything until Naruto had spoke and then he began to hear it- a faraway voice yelling. As they neared their car, Sasuke’s eyes took in the form of the brown-haired man from the office and the child standing over in the other parking lot.

The father was yelling at the boy, when the adult suddenly pulled back his hand and smacked the child- hard. The red-head fell and Sasuke felt his jaw clench. He turned away quickly but he still heard Naruto gasp in surprise. The raven turned his neck and saw the child staring at the scene behind them. “S-sasuke....he’s hitting Gaara? W-why?! Why would he do t-that?” Sasuke looked away, unsure of what to say. “Th-there are some people who just do things like that. It doesn’t matter who you are.... they’ll hurt you. Usually for their own satisfaction,” the dark-haired man finally said. Naruto slumped against his back, arms tightening their hold around the pale neck, head rested against the strong back. “Sasuke.... I’m not hungry anymore.” Sasuke nodded his head. He didn’t feel like eating anymore either.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was Saturday, three days after the incident in the parking lot, before Naruto could start to think about Gaara again. And when he did, this was the first thing he spoke. “Can’t we do anything for Gaara?” Sasuke, who’d been watching the news, was at first confused but he quickly deduced that Gaara was the red-head’s name. The raven wrapped an arm around the blonde’s shoulder and pulled the warm body against his own. “There’s not much we can do. I’ll call social services, but unless it happens often they can’t do anything either,” he said, staring down at the small tan face. Naruto bent his head down, feeling unbelievably sad and wishing he could take the red-head away from that mean man. Tears pricked his eyes, and Sasuke reached out to brush them away.

“The best you can do is just try to be his friend. Someone like Gaara needs someone he can talk to,” the raven stated. Naruto raised his watery blue eyes up to his nanny and nodded his head. But what if Gaara didn’t talk to him? The red-head didn’t want to before, what would make him want to do so now? That’s when an idea struck the blonde. He’d give the taller boy Gama-chan! When ever he was down or needed someone to talk to, he had Gama-chan and the frog plushie always listened eagerly. Talking to Gama-chan made things hurt less. Naruto sat up and wrapped his arms around Sasuke’s shoulders, resting his head in the crook of the older male’s neck. “Sasuke...you’ll never hurt me right?,” the child asked. Sasuke placed a hand on his back, using the other one to stroke the hair at the nape of his neck. “Never, Naruto,” the nanny responded.

Naruto rode the bus that morning, feeling just a little nervous. Kiba sat beside him but the brunette hadn’t spoken a word since getting on the bus. His dog-loving friend could see the blonde was busy thinking and didn’t want to disturb him. In his backpack was Gama-chan, but Naruto wasn’t sure about giving the doll to the red-head. Gama-chan was important; the frog had been with him since his birth and it made him slightly sick to think of parting with the green plushie. But he knew it had to be done. Gaara needed someone to talk to, he was sure of it. The bus came to a halt and the child got off with the other kids. Immediately Naruto set off to find the green-eyed boy, clutching his bag tightly to his chest.

Finally he found the red-head sitting on one of the see-saws, ignored by the other children. The blonde ran up to the kid’s side, ignoring the glare that was given to him. “Hey, Gaara. I’m sorry about the fight, I really just wanted to be your friend,” Naruto paused unsure of how to bring the topic up. With little certainty he plowed forward anyways. “I-I wish I could have helped you after our meeting with the principal.....I’m sorry you got hurt, if you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine but I thought you need someone to tell things to.” Gaara’s eyes narrowed dangerously, to the point that they were thin green slits. Naruto began to feel slightly afraid, like maybe he had said something he shouldn’t have. Trembling, he opened his backpack and pulled out Gama-chan. “This is Gama-chan, I’ve had him forever but I thought you should have him instead. So you can talk to him,” Naruto held out the doll to the red-head and felt disappointment rise when Gaara made no move to take the frog.

The bell rang and finally the other boy got to his feet. Gaara continued to glare at him but his pale hands took the doll and held it, inspecting it with a critical eye. Naruto smiled, certain now that Gaara would have a friend to talk to and that Gama-chan was in good hands. Gaara raised his other hand from his side, fingers trailing down the frog’s green skin, before closing over one of the legs. The red-head looked at him blankly, before whipping both arms back, successfully ripping the amphibian plushie into three pieces. Naruto watched horror-stricken as his beloved doll fell to the gravel floor, stuffing foaming out from its torn limbs. The blonde felt a wave of sorrow wash through him, before rage took over and he tackled the emotionless red-head to the floor with an angry cry.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sasuke couldn’t believe that Naruto had gotten into another fight just a week after his last one, and had gotten suspended as warned. But he didn’t think about those things as he consoled the distraught blonde. Naruto was still clutching at the pieces of his frog plushie, crying mournfully over the doll. It had taken him 15 minutes to figure out the story behind the torn doll, and Sasuke couldn’t only feel hate toward the red-headed child. “Naruto....there’s nothing we can do. Gama-chan’s too old to fix.” Naruto shook his head, gripping his doll tighter. “No! I’m not throwing him away! Mommy gave me him!!” The blonde shouted this out, but it felt true in his heart, though he’d never asked his father for sure. Sasuke felt his heart ached and he knew he couldn’t attempt to tear the doll away from the blonde. “I won’t throw him out Naruto,” the raven said softly, pulling the child close to him.

Naruto continued to cry into his shoulder, body shaking with sobs. “Here, I have an idea,” Sasuke said, pushing the child back far enough to look at the crumpled face. There was already another bruise forming on the blonde’s cheek from today’s fight. “Let’s put Gama-chan into a pretty box, so he can have a place to stay where he won’t get damaged anymore, alright?” The child didn’t seem to hear, but after a moment the blonde wiped his eyes and stared back into his caretaker’s obsidian orbs. “Okay,” he whispered. Sasuke picked the child up and together they got a shoe box, emptying it of its contents before placing the ruined doll into it. Naruto kissed the frog tenderly, before putting the lid on, and scribbling ‘Gama-chan’ on the side. “I-I’m going to go put him into my room,” Naruto said hoarsely to the raven, turning to look at the nanny. Sasuke nodded his head and watched as his charge turned around and started upstairs. He’d let Naruto do this task alone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Two days later, and two days into his suspension, Naruto was still depressed and moped over the loss of his childhood friend. Sasuke, unsure of what to do, took the kid to the mall. It was quite empty as most people were at work or school, so the two of them walked around undisturbed. They went into numerous stores, stopping at the food court for a bite to eat, before again walkng around a bit. Around 1:00 o’clock, Sasuke began to feel desperate as well. He had yet to cheer up the blonde and soon they’d have to leave to not to get stuck with the afternoon mall mob. Up ahead was another store, and this Sasuke thought, would be their last stop for the day. The two walked in, Naruto not even bothering to look up to see where they were, he didn’t really care. Sasuke left Naruto behind in the toy soldier section, moving over to the plushie section of the store. Yes, he’d entered into a toy shop in hopes of cheering up the child but the action seemed nearly futile.

Sasuke gazed at each of the doll’s individually, studying them. One eventually caught his eye, and smiling to himself picked it up. Naruto gazed around himself, walking out of the aisle. He’d just noticed that his nanny had left him there and he wondered where the raven could be. He walked to the cashier in time to see Sasuke purchase an item, and hurried to his caretaker’s side. “Dobe, I thought you were busy?” Naruto shook his head. He didn’t care about toys at the moment. “Oh well,” the raven said. “I’d thought I’d surprise you but I guess I’ll just give him to you now.” Naruto watched confusingly as the dark-haired male bent to his knees, reaching into the store bag. The pale hands pulled out a dark red fox and placed them into the tan arms. Naruto stared unbelievingly at the doll. “I know he won’t replace Gama-chan, but having your own Kyuubi would be a nice addition, no?,” Sasuke said, watching as the sad look in the blonde’s cerulean orbs transformed into a look of joy.

“Thanks, Sasuke!!” The blonde shouted, jumping at the raven. Sasuke received the hug, happy to have the child back to his old self. After a moment the child pulled away and looked back at the shelves before turning to the nanny. “Hey Sasuke....?”

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Naruto watched merrily as a red-head approached his cubby and stopped, looking at the thing placed inside. His and Gaara’s suspension had ended the day before and it was then that the blonde decided to implement his plan. In the red-head’s cubby was a raccoon plushie, and Gaara seemed surprise to find the doll there. The older boy reached inside and took the doll into his hands, spotting the note that read ‘a friend to talk to’ in scribbly writing. Naruto watched apprehensively, afraid that maybe the red-head would tear that doll too. It had taken him forever to convince Sasuke to buy the stuffed animal; it would be sad just to rip it apart. But that didn’t happen. Gaara looked around him for any signs of people before he slipped the doll into his bag, a small smile spreading across the blank face. Naruto smiled, then turned away. Mission accomplished.

Chapter 10

“Hurry up, Dobe!”

A young blonde scrambled around his room, throwing a clean shirt over his head and grabbing his slice of peanut butter toast; only to jam it back into his mouth. Swallowing the mouthful, the child yanked his socks on. “Coming!,” he called back, quickly pulling his sheet over his bed. Naruto grabbed Kyuubi- his newest fox plushie- and kissed the top of its head, placing it on the night stand. Beside the newly settled doll was a shoe box, to which the blonde took the lid off and pulled out his torn Gama-chan from inside it, giving the top of the green doll’s head a kiss as well. “Goodbye Kyuubi, Goodbye Gama-chan,” Naruto said lovingly to his plushies, putting the frog back into its rightful place before hurrying out of the room.

The child ran down the stairs, ignoring Sasuke’s irritated look and slipping his sneakers on. Sasuke handed the boy his backpack, noticing the blob of peanut butter on the side of the child’s mouth. “Dobe... you’re supposed to clean yourself up first,” the raven said, leaning down to his charge. Naruto blinked confusedly at the nanny, before he was backed against the wall and his lips sealed by the older’s ones. The blonde mewled into the kiss, arching into Sasuke’s crooked form, heart beating rapidly. Warm hands found their way onto the child’s person, at the back of his head and another at his hip. “S-sasuke....,” Naruto gasped out as the kiss was broken. The raven kissed the child’s cheek, trailing down to the tan neck, not stopping at the sound of his name.

The blonde shivered at the contact, but tried to pull away all the same. “S-ah-suke....i-I have school, re-remember?,” Naruto asked, his voice trembling. Sasuke pulled away from the tan flesh and buried his nose into the blonde spikes above the child’s ear. “Stay home,” the nanny whispered but Naruto shook his head. “I-I can’t Sasuke. Aunt Tsunade will come here again if I don’t go. Do you really want that?” Sasuke drew back from the child with a sigh, and fixed the boy with a blank stare. “No,” he answered. Naruto smiled at the disappointed look his nanny sported, standing on tip-toes to place a small kiss on the raven’s lips. “Cheer up, Sasuke! It’s only a few hours of a day,” the blonde said, heading to the door. “Bye, Sasuke. I’ll see you after school!”

The raven got to his feet and watched as the child ran for the bus, before getting on the yellow vehicle. The male sighed, shutting the door as the school bus pulled away. It looked like he’d have to wait until school was over. But he didn’t want the blonde to go to school today; that stupid brat Gaara was there. ‘Oh, well...,’ he thought as he entered the kitchen. ‘At least I managed to clean the peanut butter off of the dobe.’ Sasuke smirked merrily into his coffee as he remembered that little bit and made his way to the living room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was geography at the moment, so the blonde found himself busy coloring in a 8x11 sized map of America when Iruka approached the child. “You’re doing really well, Naruto,” the brunette commented, watching as the blonde worked. The boy paused in his work and looked up at the teacher, smiling. “Yep! Sasuke helps me out a lot so everything’s a bit easier now.” Iruka smiled back at the child, pulling up a seat to the blonde’s desk. “You’re father will be home soon, won’t he?,” Iruka asked, casting a quick glance around the room. Naruto reached into his pencil case for a blue pencil crayon and began to shade the water. “Yeah,” the boy said, thinking back. “He should be coming home in November. At least, that’s when he said he’d be back.”

The teacher nodded his head, turning away for a moment to help one of the other students. Finished, the brunette turned back to Naruto, watching as the child colored. “That’s good to hear. He’ll be here for Christmas, then.” The blonde nodded in response, leaning into his desk as his pencil crayon got closer to the country’s coast. “I wonder what will happen to Sasuke, then?,” Iruka thought aloud. Naruto stopped what he was doing and looked at his teacher. “W-what do you mean?,” he asked. The brunette looked up at his attendance and locked eyes with the child’s cerulean orbs. “Well, I mean Sasuke will have to go back to doing whatever it was he was doing before, right?,” the teacher said. Naruto looked back down at his work, feeling a hollowness in the pit of his stomach. What would happen to Sasuke? The nanny didn’t have anywhere else to go..... “Right,” the blonde said after a moment.

Iruka, ignorant to the nearly forlorn tone in the child’s voice, smiled brightly. “Anyways, there’s no reason to bother thinking about things like that. You’re birthday’s coming up in a couple weeks and then you’ll be nine years old! That’s a big change,” Iruka chirped, before getting to his feet. The kind man patted the child’s head, then walked away, stopping to help the other children. Naruto didn’t notice Iruka’s departure, as he was at the moment thinking about the last thing his brown-haired teacher had said, that his birthday was just in two weeks. ‘I’m going to turn nine, and Sasuke will be there to celebrate it with me!’ Smiling brightly, the blonde picked up his pencil and returned to his work. Not before glancing across the room at a lonely Gaara, smiling at the other boy once the red-head looked up. Gaara stared at him for a few moments, before returning to his work, and then Naruto did the same thing.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sasuke was sitting in the living room once again, when the blonde returned home that afternoon. The raven put his coffee down and waited for the usual routine of the child running into the room and plastering against his side, but that didn’t happen. The loud footsteps actually went away from the area he was in, and into the kitchen. This left the nanny slightly baffled since he was always greeted first thing when Naruto came home, and it made him feel a little unwanted. Frowning, Sasuke got to his feet and made his way to the kitchen. Like he did back in July, he found the blonde staring up at the calendar, a smile spread across the whiskered cheeks. “Dobe...?” Naruto turned to look at him, before running up to the raven and throwing tan arms around the adult’s waist. “Guess what, Sasuke!?,” the blonde said as they moved into the living room.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, indicating for the child to continue, as he sat down on the couch with Naruto settling himself against his side. “In two weeks, its my birthday!” The raven seemed genuinely surprised before he smirked, running a hand through golden hair. “Oh, great. That means you’re growing,” Sasuke joked, smirk growing wider when Naruto pouted. The blonde leaned against his nanny’s chest, head tilted back so he could look into the coal orbs. “We’ll have a big party, ok? And then...t-then we’ll have another party....just you and me,’k?,” Naruto asked, blushing lightly. The dark-haired male quirked an eyebrow, leaning in closer to his charge. “Just you and me, huh?,” he whispered. The blonde nodded his head, moving away so he was leaning against the arm of the couch.

The raven smirked, balancing himself over the child’s small body. “I see....,” the adult said, before pressing in closer. Naruto wound his arms around his caretaker’s neck, opening his mouth as soon as Sasuke’s covered his. The pale man’s hip pressed between his legs, making the child arch at the contact, while the raven’s tongue in his mouth demanded his attention. Fingers danced across his backside, sending chills of pleasure rushing through him, as the boy’s body grew hot. He loved it when Sasuke touched him.

Busy as the two were, they didn’t hear when the front door opened.

Chapter 11

The two bodies entered into the house, and made their way contently through the domain. They were unaware of any difference, as were the two couple in the living room. The two arrivals came down the hallway, and finally the man decided to speak. “Naruto, guess what-” The man cut himself off as he entered into the living room, dropping his luggage in shock. The women beside him let out a gasp, and finally the nanny and child pulled apart. Naruto twisted around in surprise, clutching the fabric of the couch. “D-dad....!?” Arashi ignored his son, and charged at the pale man, letting out a howl of rage.

Sasuke saw this happen, and quickly rolled away from the couch, to dodge the enraged parent and to make sure the blonde boy wasn’t in harms way. Arashi caught up with Sasuke and quickly fell upon the raven, fists pummeling into the dark-haired male’s body while the other blocked the hits. Naruto watched the two men fall to the floor, wrestling about, and his heart clenched in his chest. There were so many things going on through his head, like ‘why was his dad here so earlier’ and other things pertaining to the nanny’s safety. Heat filming his eyes, Naruto finally rose off of the couch and attempted to rush to the raven’s side but was scooped up into a pair of arms. Crying heavily now, he struggled against his captor’s hold, ignoring the voice of his Aunt.

“N-noooo...stop...st-stop, please. Please, STOP!!,” the child shouted, voice overlain with sobs. Tsunade cradled the struggling child, trying her best to leave the room. “Ssh, ssh....it’s ok. Everything will be ok. Naruto, don’t cry. Your father can handle that man.....he won’t hurt you ever again.” Naruto shook his head, fixing his blurry vision on the fighting adults. No, everything wasn’t going to be okay. Sasuke was in trouble, why couldn’t anyone understand? No matter how hard he fought against his aunt’s hold, the boy was still unable to get free and was taken from the room immediately. Arashi called from the other room, telling Tsunade to call for the cops. Tsunade quickly carried Naruto into the kitchen and picked up the phone.

Naruto, finally free of the blonde women’s grasp, ran from the room but knew he was unable to return to the living room. He cast teary blue eyes to the living room entrance, hearing the scuffle from that area, before bolting up the stairs. He rushed into his room, slamming the door behind him and throwing himself onto his mattress. Kyuubi got swept up into his arms, and the fox was squeezed tightly by the desperate boy. About twenty minutes later, three police cruisers parked outside their home. An officer came and brought the child downstairs. The two reached the last step in time to see two police officers cuff Sasuke and take him out the front door. Arashi glared at the raven’s back before noticing his son’s presence, immediately rushing to the child’s side and wrapping him up into a hug.

“Oh god, Naruto. I’m sorry....so sorry.....” Naruto closed his eyes. He didn’t want apologies, he didn’t want his dad to be hugging him and cursing the raven. He wanted Sasuke......only sasuke.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“No, I won’t do it!!” The doctor dodged the container thrown at him, as again he attempted to catch the small blonde. “I need to...oomph....hey, don’t throw that!....ughhh.... I need to take samples!,” the doctor huffed, finally grabbing the child’s wrist. “I don’t care! I won’t do it! Sasuke did nothing and I won’t let you frame him!!,” Naruto shouted, kicking the doctor in the shin. The man grunted in pain, and released the child. Naruto was quick to run around the table, pushing over the tiny stand holding a collection of swabs and other medical tools, grabbing Kyuubi with one tan hand. The door, which had been previously closed, opened at the sound of crashing and an officer stepped inside to see what the ruckus was about. The blue-uniformed woman caught the child before he could take off again, and turned to the doctor. “Sir, is everything alright?”

The doctor cast an irritated look to the boy before looking at the woman. “No. We’re having a little bit of a difficulty. The child won’t let me take any samples,” the man clipped, rubbing his sore shin. The officer looked about the room, then down at the sulky child. “I can see....,” she replied. “Sorry for the inconvenience, doctor.” The officer led the child out of the room, and down the hall to an empty interrogation room. Naruto entered the room without complaint, and sat down at the table. In front of him was a mirror, but he knew that it was really a two-way window. He stared at himself on the glass, before the officer obstructed his view by taking the seat across from him. “So, you’re not letting the doctor take the samples needed? Why?” The child looked blankly at the woman, remaining silent. The officer waited a moment, before speaking again, “You can tell me, you know? On the other side of that mirror is my chief officer and a children’s lawyer. You don’t have to worry about anyone talking about your secrets,” she said, in a most motherly tone.

Naruto narrowed her eyes at her, lips pressed into a frown. “I am quite aware of whose on the other side; and I have nothing to say to you,” the child concluded. The officer clenched her teeth in annoyance, trying to remain calm. “I think you have much to say. Obviously you’re a very intelligent boy Naruto. You know that whatever you say here won’t be shared with anyone else unless you want them to know,” the woman stated, switching tactics. To this, the blonde laughed, bitterly and with a short bark. “You’re all idiots. I have nothing to share, officer.” The woman seemed shocked by the boy’s sarcasm, and leaned forward in her seat. “Naruto, what did he do to you? Your friends and family have described you to be such a sweet boy, but you’re acting like this!” Naruto turned his head to the side, clutching his fox plushie tightly. They were all so stupid.... all the adults.

Silence ensued for a few moments longer, before the officer spoke again. “It’s alright if you don’t want to talk. With what we’ve heard from your father and your Aunt, there’s evidence to call for a trial. You don’t have to see the doctor if it makes you feel better, but you might need to testify. Don’t worry though, we’ll do everything in our power to put that man behind bars....,” the woman stopped short as she noticed the tears tracking down the child’s scarred cheeks. But what surprised her more was the child’s twisted expression: rage and sorrow. “You...y-you’re all IDIOTS!! Sasuke didn’t do anything wrong, so let him go! If you want to arrest someone, arrest Gaara’s dad!! That mean man constantly hurts Gaara! But Sasuke’s never hurt me!! Morons, imbeciles, RETARDS!!,” Naruto spat. The child got to his feet, fists clenched on the table top. “Sasuke’s innocent, he did nothing wrong!! I won’t testify against him, I won’t give you samples- Sasuke did NOTHING WRONG! Let him go, let him go!!”

The officer started to rise from her seat, almost scared at the child’s vehemency and anger. But she stopped as she noticed the anger seemed to leave the blonde, the boy’s body crumbling back into his seat. The trembling tan fingers wove around his doll, holding it against his chest as he turned his face down; crying still. “L-let....him go...... pppp-please, g-give him b-bbb-back.....Sasuke....” The confused police officer left the room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sasuke sat in his own interrogation room, a few doors down, his wrists still cuffed and sitting on the table top. The officer in front of him had been trying to get him to talk for the past half hour but the raven had remained silent. The officer had asked the nanny if he wanted a lawyer (he answered ‘no’), then he’d been told that he wasn’t cooperating with the cops by not speaking. He showed no clue that he was even listening. But in his head, Sasuke had much to say. Still, he remained silent, honoring Naruto’s promise. The blonde boy didn’t want him to tell, and until the child decided otherwise, Sasuke wouldn’t speak. It wasn’t that he was stressed or anything, he already figured he’d be going to jail. It was just..... ‘I don’t want to hurt Naruto anymore than I already have.’ So, he’d concluded, he’d remain quiet.

The door of the room opened and another officer came in. Sasuke didn’t bother to look, just kept staring ahead even as the first officer in front of him got up out of his seat and left. He did though, widen his eyes in shock when the new officer came and sat in the unoccupied seat. Before him now sat Kakashi, and the man seemed somewhat distraught. “So you’re the suspect?,” the grey-haired male said. Sasuke molded his face back into an expression of indifference, fixing his gaze on a spot behind the masked man’s head. Kakashi sighed, and lifted a hand to scratch at the side of his clothed face. “I.... really hope you didn’t do anything. For Naruto’s sake. I don’t want to have to put you behind bars.”

The spiky hair male got to his feet and walked around the raven, heading to the door. Sasuke watched the man’s back in the reflection of the mirror. “I won’t speak, because you won’t believe anything I say,” the dark-haired male said suddenly, halting Kakashi’s exit. The officer turned around, and gazed at the back of the Uchiha’s head. “Uchiha?,” the older man asked, hoping the nanny would elaborate. For a moment, it was silent and Kakashi turned around to leave again. “Ask Naruto. Anything he says is true..... believe his words.” The grey-haired man paused in the doorway, before nodding his head in acknowledgment. “I will,” he promised. Then Kakashi left, closing the door behind him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Arashi Uzumaki?” The blonde man lifted his head, and looked at the officer standing before him. It was tall man, with oddly grey spiky hair -though he appeared in his thirties’- wearing a mask across most of his face. “Yes?,” the blonde replied, getting to his feet. Tsunade beside him, also got to her feet. “How’s Naruto,” she asked. “Is he alright?” Kakashi nodded his head, grimacing under his mask. “Everything’s fine. I just came to give you a report of how things are at the moment,” the masked man said. Arashi let out a content sigh, placing a hand on his chest. “Good. That means the samples have been taken and now that asshole can be put behind bars. Naruto won’t even have to testify!” Kakashi felt guilt worm its way into his stomach, making him feel queasy. He was about to destroy this father’s joy. “Actually....,” he started, and that immediately caught the attention of the two blondes.

Kakashi sighed, before continuing. “Actually, no samples were collected.” Arashi blew up as soon as the words were said. The two blondes turned on him, yelling. The grey-haired male raised a hand and silenced them. “Your son has refused to have evidence collected, and he says he won’t testify. In his own words, he has declared the Uchiha as innocent.” That one really kicked the dad. Arashi ground his teeth, anger quickly rising. “Liar!! That sick fuck is anything but innocent!! I know what I saw, and Naruto would never do those things!! So don’t you DARE fucking come to me, lying about my own fucking kid!” Arashi fisted Kakashi’s shirt in his hands, drawing the officer to him. “Now, you’re going to go back and put that fucking ass behind bars or else!” Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the blonde male, grabbing the other’s wrists. “Sir, threatening a police officer is a federal offence, and I can and will have you arrested if you don’t calm down this instance!,” he hissed back. The two blondes took to his warning and both backed off, though the anger continued to smoulder in their eyes.

Kakashi, struggling his own anger, tried to continue with his report. “I’m sorry if you think I’m lying, but that’s what your son’s done. And his decisions are going to be respected,” the masked male took a deep breath, pausing only a second. “As it seems right now, Sasuke Uchiha might only be sentenced for police custody with release on bail. Naruto is adamant about the man being innocent, and there seems to be no other history of pedophilia. Of course, the Uchiha’s sentence might change should anyone else come forward with testimonies of sexual abuse.” Kakashi turned away from the pair, noticing a small head of blonde hair that disappeared behind an open door at the end of the hallway. The officer took one step forward, before he paused. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled to the two adults behind him.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was half-past midnight, as the officer on duty rose from his seat to refill his coffee mug. There were a couple more officers working just down the hall, all of them doing desk work. Sighing, the man poured the luke-warm coffee into his cup, returning to his post at the front desk. He hated this shift the most, and was painstakingly counting down the minutes to when he would get off and could finally go home to bed. Rubbing at his bleary eyes, the officer drank deeply from his mug, before sitting at the desk. Looking up, he was surprised to see a man standing before him. He didn’t even hear the guy step forward. “O-oh...hi. How....um... how could I help you?”

The officer stared at the stranger, noting the other man’s long black hair held in a loose ponytail and black eyes, two lines stretching out from either side of the guy’s nose. “I’m here to pay release for someone,” the man answered. The officer nodded his head, reaching under his desk and pulling out the large book containing information on people in custody. “Name?,” he asked the raven. “Sasuke Uchiha,” the man replied back. The police officer ran his finger down the page, squinting eyes at the cramped print, before finding the name. “Found him,” he said. “Bail will be 5000.00 dollars.” The man reached down and placed a suitcase on the desk. Clicking it open, the stranger pulled out a few bundles of bills, handing them over to the officer. The officer quickly counted them, and made sure they weren’t counterfeit before reaching down to the key ring behind the desk. He gestured for the raven to follow him, and made his way through the police station.

“You know, I was wondering if anyone was going to come and bail this guy out. He’s been sitting here nearly two weeks, and noone’s come forward to pay for his release,” the officer said, trying to strike conversation in the quiet. The other man said nothing, so the officer continued on. “He was suspected of molesting an eight-year old kid but the kid says otherwise. The child refuses to have samples taken and won’t testify against the guy. Still the kid’s family are fighting to get our guy convicted. They might have eventually succeeded if you hadn’t come along. You family?” The officer turned to face the raven, and the man spared him a fleeting glance. “Yes,” the dark-haired male said monotonously. The officer nodded his head, unlocking the door in front of the pair. “That’s nice to hear. I was starting to think that maybe this guy didn’t have any family, or at least noone who cared enough about him.” The door now open, the two entered into a long room, five to six different sized cells built along the left-side of the wall. “Here you go,” the officer stated, opening the first cell’s door.

Inside, sat a crumbled male’s form, sitting forlornly on a bench against the far wall. For a moment, the third person did not react, but eventually he raised his head. “Aniki...,” he spoke hoarsely. The man beside the officer nodded his head, and gestured for the younger raven to come forward. Sasuke did, struggling at first to get to his feet, before walking over to his brother’s side. Other prisoners still awake in the other cells, called insults at the younger raven’s back, but they were quickly silenced upon exiting the room. The officer led the brothers back to the front of the building, quickly filling out a form and handing it to the older raven. “I hope you don’t face anymore problems out there,” the officer said kindly to Sasuke. The raven only nodded his head, following silently behind Itachi.

Outside, a car waited, and the two Uchihas got into the vehicle. Sasuke said nothing, though he was a little curious as to how his brother knew he had been arrested. As if reading his thoughts, Itachi answered, “I was in the area for a business trip. A colleague showed me the article about the suspected pedophile. That’s when I found out.” Sasuke turned his head away in shame, listening to the ruffle of paper. Suddenly the sound stopped and an item was placed at his side. Sasuke looked back to his left, noticing the newspaper spread on the seat between him and his brother. It was opened up on a certain page, and the raven leaned forward to read it.

The Fight Continues

After a week and a half, the Uzumaki family persists to fight over the issue involving a man suspected of pedophilia. Internationalist reporter, Arashi Uzumaki of the Boston Times, claims to have come early home from an assignment in Iraq only to find his only child being molested on their living room couch. The man, hired to position of nanny to the reporter’s son, has gone uncharged still. The boy, the supposed victim of the whole affair, had proclaimed that Sasuke Uchiha -Harvard student turned nanny of 20- was innocent and continues to stick by his testimony. The boy’s father remains unappeased and protests against the police, saying that the courts are corrupted if they allow such men to go unpunished. The courts go on to follow the same rule that they had set down in the beginning of this case, that if any other victims come forward then the Uchiha’s sentence will be immediately changed. As of yet, none have come forward......

Sasuke pulled his eyes away, and promptly turned to stare out his window. He’d read quite enough. Itachi gathered up the newspaper, and tucked it away. “Your actions were foolish, and have cost you what little credit you have in America. Be consoled though: mother and father don’t know what has occurred. Noone in japan has heard the story; you’ll have many options open to you once we’ve returned.” Sasuke took in his brother’s words, feeling himself beginning to go numb. “I understand,” he replied, watching as outside his window the airport drew closer.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“Naruto, it’s time to go. Your school bus is nearly here.” The child finished tying his shoes, and slung his bag over his back. He looked up and gave his dad a wide grin, plastered on with painstaking effort as the boy wanted nothing more than to frown at the adult. The older man smiled, and patted Naruto’s blonde spikes lovingly. The child walked out from under the hand, and hurried down the steps. On the sidewalk now, he quickly strode over to his bus stop, knowing full well that Arashi was keeping an eye on him. Ever since that night, his dad had been watching him carefully, worried that something more would happen to his only child. Naruto hated it. There was a big tree that blocked him from his dad’s view for a few moments, his bus stop just beyond that. Waiting under the tree, as Naruto had asked, was his neighbor’s son. The two boys were about the same age and height, except the neighbor’s son had brown curly hair.

“What can I do for you, Naruto?” Naruto quickly looked behind him, then face the brunette. “Here, I need you to put on my jacket and hat. Can you do that?” The other child raised an eyebrow, but nodded his head anyways. “Ok,” Naruto replied gratefully. Quickly he gave the mentioned items to the other boy, and then pushed himself beneath the bushes surrounding the tree. “Just don’t get into any trouble, Naruto,” the other child said, before he scurried over to the bus stop, jumping into the yellow vehicle. Naruto smiled, and watched the bus pull away. He’d be just fine. After a couple minutes, the blonde got up and quickly dashed across the street to the park. He had to get to the police station to see Sasuke. They made a promise to spend his birthday together, and that’s why Naruto planned so hard to slip away from his dad. ‘Cause today, he was finally nine years old.

The officer looked down at the kid, before shaking her red head. “I’m sorry, kid. We can’t allow you to see people without an adult.” “But you’re an adult,” the boy retorted. The woman sighed, and scratched at her neck. “Boy, don’t you have school?,” she asked. Naruto shook his head. “It’s a P.A day. Please, miss. The man’s a cousin of mine. I really want to see him.” The officer gazed into the child’s blue orbs and felt her conviction crumble. “Oh, alright. Can you give me his name?,” she said, pulling out the registry. The blonde told her the raven’s name, ignoring the questionable look the woman gave him when he said the name. Frowning, the woman stared at the book, before sighing and shutting the registry. “I’m sorry.....but he was released on bail the night before. He’s long gone by now.”

Naruto cracked a small, but it was anything but happy. “W-what?,” he questioned in a trembling voice. “S-sasuke’s....goo-one.....?” The Officer jumped in surprise when the child broke down into silent tears, moving around the desk to try to comfort the distraught blonde. When he wouldn’t stop, she led him outside and helped him into one of the police cruisers. “Come on. I think maybe you should go home.” Naruto was too sad to care.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

“What is the meaning of this?! Why are you still defending that bastard?!” Naruto turned away from his dad, not answering the enraged adult. Arashi stared fuming at his son, before turning to Tsunade. “Tsunade, do something. He’s been like this for over a week now! He refuses to talk to me and constantly is being disobedient. I have no idea what’s gotten into him.” Arashi, finally spent, turned away from the two other blondes; his fingers gripping at the sink. Tsunade looked at her brother warily, before turning to the child. She too was quite upset with his recent behavior and could only blame it on the raven nanny. “Naruto, you’re going to stop this right now! No more sneaking around, no more swearing, and no more disrespecting your father the way you are. Got it?,” she growled. The boy cast her a small glance. “No,” he replied. Tsunade felt her tongue curl up in her mouth and could find no words to say to the child. He had just refused her. He’d never done that before.

“What is this stupid doll?!,” Arashi demanded, finally noticing the fox plushie in Naruto’s arms. “Where’s Gama-chan?” Naruto glared at his father. “Kyuubi’s not stupid,” he hissed. “You are.” The man clenched his teeth at the insult, fixing hard blue orbs on the doll. “That doll’s new. That fucking bastard bought it for you didn’t he?” Naruto didn’t answer his dad, but clutched Kyuubi tighter to himself. Arashi, miffed at his son’s attitude, strode forward and ripped the plushie from the boy’s grasp. “This stupid doll is going in the garbage,” the man declared, opening the trash and throwing the fox in. Naruto howled in anger, pushing his dad out of the way and grabbing the filthy doll. Dodging Tsunade, the child ran to the kitchen entrance and turned around to face his father. “Naruto, give me that stupid fox now or you’re grounded!!,” Arashi yelled. The small boy, fixed a teary-eyed glare at his dad, teeth clenched in rage.

“I hate you!! I hate you, hate you, Hate You!! You made Sasuke go away, I’ll never forgive you for that! I HATE YOU SO GODDAMN MUCH!!!! I wish you had just died in Iraq!!” Naruto bolted from the room, skipping up the stairs two at a time, slamming his door shut behind him. He didn’t care if was grounded now. Downstairs, Arashi fell into a chair, staring blankly at the kitchen floor. Tsunade stood shocked as well. “H-he was just up-upset.....he di-didn’t mean i-it.....,” she mumbled. Arashi did not respond.

For a year after that day, Naruto didn’t call Arashi his dad. He didn’t even acknowledge the man’s existence until four years had passed. He never did really forgive him.

Chapter 12: Epilogue

Naruto sat in the car, staring out the window at the winding drive-way that twisted up and out of view behind large cherry blossoms. His blue eyes shifted up an inch and took in the late afternoon sky, framed by the reaching branches of the trees on the hill. “Naruto.....are you sure about this?,” asked a voice from his left. Turning in his seat, the blonde looked at his friend, Neji. The golden haired male had met the other in his junior year of highschool and they’d become instant friends. Actually, most people that Naruto met became instant friends. Go figure. The blonde smiled at the long-haired raven, nodding his head. “Don’t worry, Neji. I’ll be fine. I’ve got my cell and it still has a signal,” the shorter male said, showing his ruby red cell to the pale-eyed male when he saw the raven wasn’t consoled by his first comment.

Neji eyed his peer, before sighing. The Hyuuga’s pale hands gripped the steering wheel of his black sedan; he still felt uncertain about this whole situation. “Alright, I’ll wait here. If everything’s fine text me; if not, call me and I’ll come pick you up.” Naruto grinned at his friend, leaning over the seat and hugging the raven. “Thanks, man!,” the blonde exclaimed. Naruto released his buddy, before sliding out of the car. “Check you later!,”the golden male waved to Neji, before shutting the car door and turning around. He paused for a moment, a hand fisting around his cell in his pocket, but the smile spread across his face quickly and he hurried to make the trek to the top of the hill.

“To think..... I’m finally here,”the blonde whispered to himself, as he hiked past the looming trees laden with fresh cherry blossoms. A spark of warmth ignited in his chest, and spread through him, making him close his eyes in glee as a laugh slipped past his lips. This was the moment he’d been waiting for all his life. Buzzing still with the strange sense of euphoria, Naruto pulled out his phone and began to tap at the tiny number pads. He finished as he turned a bend, approaching a large white manor surrounded by the thick trees. Feeling suddenly nervous, the blonde walked up to the door, pressing a button on his cell before knocking on the black door. The sound echoed across the area, and Naruto had the distinct thought of how the silence was similar to that of a ghost town.

But the thought was wiped from his mind, as the knob began to turn and the door slowly opened. “Hey.....,”Naruto murmured, voice dying in his throat.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

It was sometime after six, the male noted as he sipped as his coffee, bent over the papers spread across his desk. As he reached for his pen to correct an error he found, there was a knock at the front door. The man paused, and listened to the noise resound through the halls as it reached his study. Wondering who could possibly be at his door so late in the afternoon, as the hired help had just left an hour beforehand, the male rose to his feet and made his way to the front of the house.

The man at the door stared indifferently at the blonde on his doorstep, but Naruto could see the flicker of emotion that crossed black eyes. The man’s pale hand tightened around the knob, and the shorter male moved to rub at his right arm. The older man before him had yet to say anything and for a moment, the blonde felt fear worm its way into his heart. “Hey.....,” he murmured again, and this time the other stepped away from the door. Naruto began to panic, thinking that the dark-haired male before him was going to shut the door and so was surprised that the door was still open to him. The older man walked away, and the blonde guessed he was meant to follow, so he walked past the threshold, slipping his shoes off and shutting the door behind him before hurrying after the raven. “Sasuke......” The name slipped past his lips, and the blonde was surprised when the raven stiffened.

But the man never turned around to face him, instead walking forward still, and into a kitchen. Naruto followed, trailing behind, feeling hollow inside. He watched as the raven made two cups of coffee, not once saying anything or even acknowledging his presence. It had been a long time since they’d last even had seen each other, the blonde admitted, but had it been too long? Did the man before him even know who he was? Naruto was brought out of his thoughts when a cup was thrust under his nose, and with some trepidation took the cup offered to him. The Uchiha stared at him unblinking for a moment, with eyes that seemed so dead to Naruto, before turning away and leaning against the counter. The blonde experienced a moment of deja vu as he looked at Sasuke, remembering a time when he had leaned just like that against his dad’s kitchen counter, a coffee in hand as well and a smirk on pale features. Naruto really missed that small quirk of the other’s lips.

Neither of them made a sound or a move, the golden-haired male too terrified to drink his coffee, and the raven just staring mindlessly into the black liquid. The ticking of a faraway clock synched with his heartbeat, and when the blonde could handle it no more, he opened his mouth. “Do you.....do you r-remember me? Sasuke?” Naruto looked up and found himself caught by coal orbs, unable to look away. The eyes narrowed, but the dark-haired man did not answer. The blonde swallowed thickly, closing his eyes as he forced a smile. “W-well, it has been eleven years. Why would you trouble yourself to remember a small eight-year old blonde, right?” Naruto turned his head to the side, shifting on his feet as his trembling fingers fought to keep their grip on the white mug. He was starting to think this was a bad idea.

“G-guess I shouldn’t have come,” he whispered to noone in particular. “I just figured you might have remembered me, you know?” Silence dominated for a second, before Naruto let out a small, bitter laugh; continuing on, “I couldn’t believe, you know, when you had gotten released. It was a little unexpected, but it’s okay. I wouldn’t have wanted you to sit in a cell because noone would pay you bail..... I was even more surprised that you’d immediately returned to Japan. I guess things arose and needed your presence. You know....even though you weren’t around, I tried my hardest to find you. I couldn’t stop thinking about you once, so I vowed I’d find you..... I don’t go back on my word.” The sound of movement caused the blonde to stop talking and look up, locking eyes with Sasuke, as the raven crossed his arms over his broad chest.

“What do you want?,” the dark-haired male demanded. For a second the words stung, and Naruto couldn’t help but flinch at their harshness. But the pain was quickly snubbed out by the rising fury. ‘How dare he?!,’ the blonde thought indignantly. “Asshole!,” the shorter man shouted, stomping over to the stoic man. Naruto slammed the cup onto the counter, spilling coffee everywhere, fisting tan hands into the raven’s black turtleneck. “I flew across the world, spent the last few years doing my best to locate you, and that’s all you’ve got to say?! ‘What do you want?’!? Dammit, you’ve no idea how much I missed you! How much I needed to see you cause I couldn’t bear i-it....,” Naruto choked back a sob, heat filming his eyes as he angrily brought the Uchiha closer to him. “You have no idea how much it h-hurt, not t-to be near you....t-to know I mmmm-might never be a-able to say how much i....I l-love y-”

Naruto was cut off as a pair of lips attached to his own, hungrily pushing against his quickly bruising lips. A tongue traced the seam of his mouth, and the blonde showed no hesitance, opening his mouth invitingly to the prodding muscle. The fingers fisted in the raven’s black shirt tightened their hold as arms wrapped themselves around the shorter male’s figure, pushing the two bodies closer together. His head was spinning wildly, and Naruto fought to catch the small amounts of air that slipped between their two open mouths, while a mad tongue danced about in his willing mouth. The arrogant muscle ravished him fully, tracing teeth and gums, sliding sensually against his own. Slowly losing oxygen, the blonde began a sort of mantra, uttering incomplete words each time the tongue retracted from his own.

“Sa......’ke....sas’.....’ukeee....’suk.....sasu....sak.......”

He whispered the words with increasing urgency, feeling the heat rise under his collar, and not wanting it to stop. Sasuke detached his mouth from Naruto’s, placing lips across the flushed flesh in feathery kisses; across cheeks, an ear and down the tan neck. Still, Naruto whispered his name in gentle pants, tilting his neck to give the raven more access. “‘Suke......saaa.....p-please....,” the blonde begged. The raven nipped at the other’s collar bone, pulling back and rising up to caress the swollen lips. “Why did you come here?,” Sasuke whispered, resting his head on the golden-haired man’s shoulder. “I was going to forget about you....,”the raven confessed, nuzzling his face into the crook of Naruto’s neck, tightening his arms around the smaller body. “If I didn’t remember you....I wouldn’t have to hurt for something I couldn’t have. And yet you came.....”

Naruto felt tears prick his eyes as he gazed at man holding him, wrestling his arms free and wrapping them around the Uchiha’s neck. The blonde pushed his face into black spikes, holding the bent man close to him. “Shit.....stupid, stupid Uchiha,” Naruto muttered kindly. “Can’t get rid of me that easy.” Lips moved against his neck (it felt like the raven was smirking), sending a chill down the blonde’s spine. “Should have known,” Sasuke mumbled back. Naruto let out a peel of light giggles, before a strong mouth covered his again. The raven turned their bodies around, and pressed the smaller male into the counter. Whimpering, the blonde placed hands into the dark hair, pulling the man closer to him. Pale hands ran down his back, up his thighs, then under the hem of his shirt.

The warm appendages pressed eagerly against his flesh, tracing the curve of Naruto’s waist, before reaching up and pinching at the pert nipples. The blonde gasped into the raven’s mouth, bucking against the hips pinning him to the counter. Sasuke pulled away from the kiss with a smack, a string of saliva breaking as the raven descended back onto the male’s tan neck. Naruto mewled, fingers running through the Uchiha’s tresses as he leaned back, letting the raven leave hickeys across his neck while the older man continued to play with his nipples. The dark-haired male let out a growl as he pulled away, yanking the shirt up and over Naruto’s head, before immediately attacking the dusty nubs that stood out against bronze flesh. The blonde could only arch his back at the feeling, crying out in bliss at the sensations, thankful for the coolness of the counter against his heated flesh.

Sasuke’s hands slid down his sides, palms resting on his bottom, before groping the clothed globes with earnest. The added pleasure caused Naruto to cry out louder for a final time, shuddering as he suddenly released. Sasuke, shocked, pulled away and gazed at the blonde. The golden-haired man was leaning all his weight against the counter top, his knees shaking, slowly coming down from his euphoric high. “Dobe,” the raven smirked at the dazed blonde. “You came already?” The blush that spread like wild-fire across the whiskered cheeks could only be described as beautiful to the raven. Naruto turned his head to the side, avoiding the Uchiha’s intense gaze, as he began to regain his breath. “W-well....what do you expect, t-teme? I-I haven’t let anyone t-touch me that w-way in a lo-long time,” the blonde stuttered.

Sasuke leaned in and ran a tongue up the other’s neck, tasting the sweat that filmed the blonde’s body. “Hmmm....I see. And you haven’t masturbated?” The question was innocent enough, but the dobe’s blush darkened and the raven couldn’t help but smirk. “Come on, dobe...tell me. Have you?” Sasuke nipped at the blonde’s pulse, feeling his erection getting harder at the adorable moan Naruto let slip. “O-only a few times....,” the Uzumaki reluctantly admitted, shivering as the raven’s fingers slowly inched their way back onto his body. “N-not the sa-same,” the blonde gasped at a particular bite Sasuke gave him, slowly pressing closer to the older man. Sasuke latched onto the boy’s collar, giving a hard suck before releasing. “Good,” he hummed, before pulling himself away from the shorter form. Naruto opened his eyes, and blinked confusedly as the raven walked away.

The Uchiha paused in the doorway, and looked back at the dazed and lustful blonde, smirking that smirk that made Naruto a big pile of goop since the days of his childhood. “We can go at it on the counter another day. For now, let’s move these activities to my bedroom, shall we?” The blonde blushed again, before quickly trotting after the man.

Sasuke’s bedroom was big....really big! And it was nearly all black, with the occasional navy blue on some of the furniture and pillows. The king sized bed, complete with canopy and black silk sheets, made Naruto blush once again. Clutching his t-shirt close to his chest, the blonde approached the bed, and found himself pushed against the mattress. Pressed against his back was Sasuke, breathing hot breath against his ear. “I’m not going to stop. Don’t ask me to.... I’ve waited too long for this.” Naruto nodded his head, he understood perfectly well how much Sasuke needed and wanted this. The raven withdrew from the blonde, flipping the smaller male over so he was facing him.

Sasuke’s fingers danced over Naruto’s pelvis, quickly unzipping and unbuttoning the Uzumaki’s jeans, and pulling them down excruciatingly slow. Naruto groaned as Sasuke got the pants off, and was pulling down his boxers now, wondering how someone could make undressing an erotic act. After peeling off the blonde’s boxers Sasuke felt himself pause all motion, just studying the other male’s naked form. It really had been a long time, and Naruto had changed so much since he’d last seen him. The Uzumaki wasn’t really the same little boy that he’d fallen in love with. The blonde was taller now. His baby fat was gone, replaced by long, lithe limbs; appearing scraggly at first but with a touch one could feel the developed muscle underneath. Sasuke’s eyes trailed from Naruto’s flushed face, down to his hardened member. ‘And that,’ Sasuke thought, arching an eyebrow. ‘Has definitely changed.’ Coarse golden curls surrounded the base of Naruto’s penis, where hair hadn’t been before. Indeed, the blonde had grown up. And quite beautifully too.

“Sasuke......?,” Naruto whimpered, opening heavy-lidded eyes wondering why the raven hadn’t returned to touching him. The Uchiha flashed him a smirk, fixing dark eyes onto his blue ones. “Wanting me that much, dobe?,” Sasuke teased, leaning closer. Naruto felt his cheeks grow hotter, but he nodded anyways. The raven above him released a small chuckle, kissing softly at his abdomen. “Well first,” the uchiha drawled. “We’ll need to clean you up.” “Sas-?” The blonde let out a surprised moan as a hot mouth suddenly closed around his cock, bringing a loud keen from the smaller male’s lips as the silky insides of Sasuke’s cheeks slid down his erection. Tan hands wound themselves into the black sheets, gripping tightly as an even warmer tongue swirled around his penis and up the underside as Sasuke lifted his head.

Naruto panted fervently now as Sasuke bobbed on his hard-on, wicked tongue swirling around and on the tip of his cock. The blonde twitched and shuddered the quicker Sasuke went, and he found himself so close to releasing once again. And just as quickly as Sasuke had taken him into his mouth, the raven removed the blonde’s member, licking at his lips at the tart taste on his lips and mouth. Naruto whined at the lose of pleasure, but shivered in anticipation as he saw Sasuke lick his lips through his hazy vision. The Uchiha heard the sad sound the blonde made and hung himself over the smaller form, a hand snaking out to stroke the flushed cheek. “Hush, dobe. Now that you’re all clean we can move on.” Naruto nuzzled into the warm palm, and watched as the raven rose off of the bed.

Quickly striding over to his bedroom’s bathroom, Sasuke scanned for anything he could use for lube, deciding on the bottle of hand cream. Returning to the room, the raven tossed the bottle onto the mattress, sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to the blonde as he began to undress. Naruto, still wanting from Sasuke’s last act, sat up on the mattress and crawled up behind the dark-haired male, watching over his shoulder as Sasuke undressed himself. The raven removed his turtleneck and Naruto found himself staring in awe at the muscles that stretched and pulled across the man’s strong back. Moving closer, Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke, latching onto the joint between the raven’s neck and shoulder, biting the flesh and then giving it a good suck.

Sasuke groaned appreciatively, turning slightly to capture the blonde’s lips in a rough kiss. “Dobe,” the Uchiha panted, gripping tightly at the blonde spikes as Naruto’s mischievous hands found their way into the raven’s pants. Sasuke gasped at the wonderful contact of the blonde’s palms wrapping around his hard shaft, sliding up and down the engorged flesh in quick swipes. Feeling his release coming quickly, the Uchiha pulled the male’s hand out of his pants, growling predatorily against the blonde’s neck. Moving fast, Sasuke got to his feet and slid his boxers and pants off in one quick movement, pouncing onto the other man. Naruto gasped in surprise, but any sound after that was swallowed as his mouth was again dominated by Sasuke. Without hesitation, the raven coated his fingers and hurried to stretch the blonde.

Naruto, feeling the prodding, felt his mind slip back to another time when Sasuke was doing the same thing to him. Letting out a small hiss at the sharpness that hit him, Naruto focused on relaxing his muscles to help prepare himself, feeling his body temperature sky-rocket a third time that evening. The blonde let out a long moan when Sasuke’s three digits brushed against his prostate, making the smaller body buck up against sasuke’s own, the dobe’s thigh brushing across the raven’s erection in a delicious friction. Grunting at his own moment of pleasure, Sasuke continued to push against the bundle he found inside the shorter man. Hearing Naruto moan out passionately again, the Uchiha decided he’d stretched the Uzumaki enough and withdrew his fingers to quickly coat his own member.

Naruto practically shouted at the raven for removing his fingers, but opening his eyes, he could see that the older man was busy covering his cock in the lubricant and the curses he had in mind died in his throat. “Fuck....’suke, please....h-hurry...” Sasuke looked up at him, and managed to smirk even through his own labored breathing. “You’ve al-always been i-impatient....dobe...” Naruto growled at the man, but gave a sharp bark when the raven suddenly shoved inside him. Blinking tears from his eyes, the blonde wrapped his legs more comfortably around Sasuke’s waist. The raven pressed gentle kisses to his temple, and eye lids, whispering apologies to him. “A-asshole....sh-shit....move, mmmm-move s’suke!” The Uchiha pressed against him let out a small snort, but obliged and pulled out before thrusting in to the hilt.

Sasuke let out his own gasp, as he worked to pick up a pace, marveling at the blonde’s tightness. To be fully submerged this time in Naruto’s entrance, without worry that he might injure the other, was....god, amazing! The Uchiha gripped the blonde’s legs, picking them up and slinging them over his shoulders as he bent the Uzumaki, shoving in deeper on this angle. Below him Naruto was mumbling his name in little broken, breathless pieces..... but he hadn’t found it yet. Sasuke furrowed his brow, pushing deeper, trying to.... “SASUKE!!” Found it. The raven smirked as he continued to ram into the blonde, hitting Naruto’s prostrate dead on, the blonde’s moans lifting in volume and dropping in coherency. Feeling himself nearing his own completion, the raven freed a hand from Naruto’s thigh and grabbed onto the male’s erection, pumping it furiously.

Naruto came with a high-pitched cry, spilling all over his stomach and chest, Sasuke shooting his own load after a couple more thrusts in Naruto’s tight hole. Panting like a dog, Sasuke pulled himself out of the blonde’s passage, leaning over his partner with all his weight placed on his elbows. Underneath him, Naruto squirmed for a moment, before cuddling closer to the pale man’s body. When the Uzumaki made a small disconcerting sound, Sasuke inclined his head to get a better view of the blonde, raising an eyebrow in question. “What?,” the raven asked curiously. “You want more?”

His answer was being pulled down to meet Naruto for a hungry kiss.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Naruto put down his fork, pushing his freshly cleaned plate to the side as he reached for his cup of coffee. The small movement made his lower back twinge in pain, but he suppressed the cry that threatened to rise. He didn’t want Sasuke to worry that he was in pain, because the pain was worth it. Naruto glanced over at the raven pouring himself another cup of coffee, still shirtless. The muscles under ivory skin flexed as the dark-haired man moved about his kitchen, and the blonde turned his eyes away, blushing deeply. Oh yeah.... the pain was so worth it. But maybe they could have stopped after the third time.... Sasuke stepped over to the small kitchen table, and picked up other male’s empty plate, studying Naruto with his obsidian orbs. The blonde was hunched over the table, fingers wrapped around his steaming mug, eyes focused anywhere but on him. The blush dusted across the scarred cheeks was adorable, enhanced further by how cute the golden-haired male looked wearing one of the raven’s black t-shirts and a pair of slightly big, black boxers. Sasuke decided he’d have to get the Uzumaki to wear his clothes more often.

“Tell me, dobe. Why the sudden appearance?” The question broke the comfortable silence that had enveloped them, and Naruto finally turned to look at the raven. “Umm...well, I’m nineteen now!,” the blonde said, scratching the side of his face. Sasuke smirked at the answer, walking away from the table and opening the dishwasher. “Besides that fact, dobe,” the raven replied, placing the breakfast dishes into the black machine. Behind him, Naruto pouted, taking a sip at his coffee before continuing, “I know that teme. But now that I’m nineteen I can do whatever I want. I’m an adult now!” The Uchiha shrugged, setting the dials on the dishwasher. “I’m quite aware of that, dobe. You’ve grown some beautiful blonde curls,” the raven remarked. Said blonde turned beat red, nearly choking. Sasuke had to hold the chuckles in at the cute sight. “P-pervert!,” Naruto spluttered.

Sasuke only leered at the other man, and the blonde had to suppress the delightful shudders that ran up his spine at that look. “M-moving on...,” the Uzumaki stuttered, taking a deep breath to calm himself, “So.... I’ve finished highschool, and I decided I wanted to attend University in Japan. I sent in my letters and I’ve been accepted to Kyoto’s University, the Katsura Campus(1). I start in September.” The raven was surprised to say the least. But he couldn’t hide the swelling of pride he felt in his chest. Still, something nagged him. “And your father?,” the Uchiha asked. Naruto paused, caught off-guard by the question, turning his eyes down and staring at his cup. The sad smile on the blonde’s face didn’t make Sasuke feel well. “He wasn’t very happy with my decision,” the golden-haired man said. “Especially when I told him I was going to look for you.”

The Uchiha leaned back against the counter top, staring into his own cup. The black liquid reflected a dark image of himself. ‘I can understand his feelings,’ Sasuke thought. “But you know....,” Sasuke looked up and noticed the blonde had turned to face him again, the face set into a relaxed smile. “I told him I was going to do it. I explained to him that I’ve always loved you, since I first met you, and I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t try to come to find you.” The raven felt his own cheeks begin to heat up. Naruto’s honesty.... it was blunt but left him feeling breathless and light-hearted. The blonde, either noticing the dark-haired man’s blush or not, let out a small chuckle and grinned brightly. “Dad wasn’t really happy about that,” the shorter male continued. “He threw a fit but eventually he accepted that he couldn’t change my feelings. He let me come with his blessing.”

Sasuke smirked at the dobe’s final words, sipping at his coffee before walking to the blonde’s side. The raven bent down and placed a small kiss on the tan forehead, placing his mug on the table. “Good to hear,” the Uchiha whispered. Naruto beamed brightly, wrapping his arms around the older man’s waist and cuddling into his side. Sasuke smiled softly at the gesture, similar to the days when they were both eleven years younger. Running a hand through golden spikes, the raven fell silent, enjoying the moment. “You’re taking residence with me,” the black-haired man interrupted suddenly. “Understand? I won’t let anyone have you.” Naruto looked up at the raven, sticking his tongue out. “Possessive bastard....,” he mumbled in reply. Sasuke only smirked, pulling the blonde to his feet. “And don’t think I’m going to go leave you alone. You’ll have to work hard- I expect nothing below an A minus, got it?,” the raven asked, bending to nip at the love-marked neck.

Naruto groaned at the treatment before pouting. “Y-you’re mean....,” he grumbled at the pale man, listening as Sasuke responded with a chuckle. Holding in a moan as the Uchiha latched onto his neck, the blonde smiled contently. Sasuke was an arrogant, possessive bastard..... but he was Naruto’s arrogant, possessive bastard and the blonde couldn’t be happier. He’d finally gotten what he had always wanted.

C.M.D: ha, most of you guys thought I was going to carry on when naruto was around 14, but I didn’t!! A-ha! No, keeping to my original plan, I did a time skip to when naruto was 19, and Sasuke was 31. So I hoped you enjoyed the final chapter, I worked hard on it.

(1) Katsura Campus is one of Kyoto’s Universities focusing on engineering and informatics. They do accept international students but you got be freaking good as hell to get in.