Title: Incognito (5/5)
Rated: NC-17 (finally LOL)
Pairing: NaruSasuNaru
Word Count: 5300+
Comments: For silverwyrm. THE END LOL _;;; Also unbeta’d because everyone is neck-deep in their own stress issues :3

Summary: Naruto likes that Shin isn’t the typical University student. The truth, however, is a bit more than Naruto might be prepared to handle.

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Chapter 5

Monday arrived with no sign of Shin. Naruto hadn’t been expecting him, what with the wound he was hopefully recovering from, but the disappointment was bitter nonetheless. Final exams were a week away and he weighed his concern for Shin against how much he needed to pass his exams. His friends had taken to watching him in intervals to ensure he didn’t do anything stupid, like take the bus out to the Hyuuga estate and get himself another black eye. Or shot for trespassing.

It was sweet of them, in a sort of oppressively grating way. Naruto entertained himself by finding ever more creative ways to lose them in the halls of the University buildings and then feigning ignorance when they found him two hours later calmly studying his dorm. But that soon lost its appeal when they stopped chasing after him and Naruto went back to sulking.

After the first couple days of watching Naruto actually focus on his schoolwork to distract himself, Shikamaru grew concerned with Naruto’s academic diligence (the irony would someday make Naruto laugh, he was sure), he agreed to accompany Naruto on daily jaunts out to Shin’s apartment, just in case Shin had returned there. But by the end of the week, they had yet to find him and his neighbors confirmed they hadn’t seen Shin since the night of Neji’s party.

Neji and Hinata were both missing as well, which left Naruto to wonder just how deeply involved the Hyuuga family was with ANBU. Naruto found little consolation in knowing Shin’s wound hadn’t been a fatal one and that he’d seen Shin walk away from it. Remembering him on his back, blood staining the grass beneath him, still made Naruto’s hands shake. He wasn’t ashamed to admit that he’d been scared. The entire situation had been entirely out of his league and he understood just how out of place he’d been, standing amidst gun-toting men in dark suits.

But still. He needed to know how Shin was doing. He had no interest in ANBU or what their mission had been or why Neji had felt the need to make himself a target. All he needed was to see for himself Shin’s sardonic smile and hear the way he said Naruto’s name, with equal parts intense loathing and reluctant affection.

Naruto would have questioned the state of his mental capacities had he the time between studying and worrying.

In any case, he needed to know if Shin was safe. And if he was... and it turned out to be the end—of Shin’s run as a college student, his mission, his time in Akita—then Naruto would accept it, no matter the pain it would bring. Yes, he conceded with less reluctance than he might have imagined, it would hurt. It had become idiotically important to him to make Shin smile, to wheedle him into talking, to see just how far he could push Shin’s patience.

Of course, Naruto knew why the mere thought of Shin leaving made him feel like someone had taken an axe to his chest. He’d just never expected it to turn out this way.

Finals week stretched on for what felt like ages. Naruto immersed himself in studying, even going so far as asking Sakura to host study sessions for all their friends so that he’d actually study and not waste time worrying about how Shin had gotten perfect grades all semester and would now fail all his classes for disappearing. Shin had never been a real student so it didn’t even matter, but Naruto still had trouble reconciling with that fact.

Midway into the week, the news exploded with the disappearance of nearly a dozen people, from surrounding businesses and government positions throughout Akita and neighboring prefectures. There was no word from the authorities about the progress of the investigation. If ANBU was really a part of the federal government, then Naruto suspected they would probably put a quick stop to it by either supplying an anticlimactic resolution or burying the events within the unsolved cases.

It would be an unsatisfactory but resolute ending for the public and Naruto had little doubt ANBU wanted it that way.

He consoled himself with the knowledge that Shin was still recovering and wouldn’t have been involved with whatever major operation ANBU had orchestrated against all those people. By the time Friday rolled around, however, that sliver of solace had given way to anger—mostly at Shin for not even bothering to let Naruto know where he was, if he was okay, if he’d ever see him again. If nothing else, they had been friends. And maybe Shin hadn’t the faintest idea what to do with a friend, but providing a little reassurance should have at least been the immediate conclusion.

His last exam was Friday afternoon and Naruto returned to his dorm feeling far heavier than he should have, considering he was fairly confident he would pass all his exams. Shikamaru would be joining him in a few hours and they would make one final trip to Shin’s apartment before they both left Akita for break.

He reached the landing for his floor and peered down the hallway to see Neji standing outside his dorm room, frowning at the door knob. Naruto tripped on his own feet and he stumbled into the wall.

“N-Neji? Neji!” He righted himself and hurried forward, swallowing with difficulty, his heart thudding in his ear.

Neji turned at his voice and straightened. His expression was still one of vague distaste as he pushed his hair behind his ear and greeted Naruto with a tepid, “Uzumaki.”

“Where’s Shin?” Naruto blurted, asking the first and only thought that mattered. “Is he okay?”

On closer inspection, the left side of Neji’s face was tinged yellow and blue, like a half-healed bruise, and a butterfly bandage adorned a split in his chin.

Naruto reeled a bit. “What the hell happened to you?”

Neji straightened his shirt and said, “Nothing.”

Naruto took ‘Nothing’ to mean he’d been involved in the disappearances of all those people. But Naruto didn’t care about that. “Well, where’s—?”

“I’ll be leaving the city in a few days,” Neji said, interrupting him. “I thought you might like to join us for dinner tonight as a farewell.”

Naruto shook his head. “W... why would I want to eat dinner with you?”

Neji gave him a flat, exasperated look. “I have a guest staying with me who I’m sure you’re anxious to see.”

Understanding made his heart beat faster against his ribs. “Oh... Uh. Yes. Yes, what time?” His stomach fluttered with excitement and uncertainty. He took a deep breath to calm his flustered nerves.

“Seven. Don’t be late.”

Naruto nodded as Neji turned away. “Why... er, I mean, not that I’m not grateful, because I am, believe me, but... why are you helping me?”

Neji looked back at him before his eyes shifted away, giving Naruto the odd impression that the man was feeling discomfited. “Sarutobi took a shot for me. I owe him.”

Neji hurried away, leaving Naruto to stand mutely outside his room. After a moment, he unlocked his door, still reeling from knowledge that Shin had willingly stepped in front of a bullet for Neji. It struck him then, the irrefutable reality of it. Knowing without a shred of doubt how important Shin’s job was to him. Naruto shut his door and fell back against it with a thud.

He had no place in Shin’s life.

With a small shake of his head, he pushed away from the door and glanced at the clock. It was four in the afternoon, which left him just about three hours to pack. He showered first before setting about clearing his things. He’d been planning to return to Kyoto before the fall semester began but now, he wasn’t sure if leaving would be the best choice. What if he left and when he returned, Shin had left for good?

One thing at a time, he told himself before phoning Shikamaru to tell him they wouldn’t be making that stop at Shin’s apartment after all. Shikamaru accepted it without asking any questions, for which Naruto was grateful.

At twenty after six, Naruto set his bags atop his bed and left the dorm for the bus stop. It was a half hour ride from the University to the Hyuuga estate and Naruto spent the entire time fiddling with the zipper of his sweater and wondering if Shin would still be the same, if he’d suddenly transformed into a stranger, an ANBU agent who had only been his friend for the convenience of his cover.

The rational part of Naruto knew Shin wouldn’t, but the last couple weeks he’d spent stewing over everything didn’t help with thinking clearly. And anyway, Naruto was pretty sure a swift punch in the face would remind Shin of just how important he was to Naruto.

His logic was flawed, but Shin would understand.

He arrived at the estate ten minutes early. With one hand curled awkwardly in his pocket, he knocked on the door and sincerely hoped this wasn’t all some cruel joke where Neji’s men suddenly popped out to reacquaint his face with their fists. But seeing as Neji didn’t possess anything resembling a sense of humor, even a twisted one, Naruto felt he was again being irrational and pushed away the thought.

Hinata opened the door, to his surprise.

“Hinata... uh. Hi.” He hunched his shoulders and resisted the urge to push past her and start bellowing Shin’s name.

“Good evening, Naruto-kun. Come in.” She stepped aside and ducked her head as he entered.

Without the presence of the entire Akita student population, the foyer seemed even more spacious than it had the last time Naruto had seen it (upside down, being carted out of the estate by Neji’s men).

“This way,” she said and led Naruto through a series of rooms, back to the locked door leading to the traditional section of the estate. He followed her through, down the hallway and up two flights of stairs before stopping outside a room and nodding slightly at Naruto before sliding the door open.

Inside, Shin was kneeling in the middle of a guest room, before a low table set with food. Only one other place was set across from him, indicating it would apparently be a private dinner.

Naruto paused at the threshold, feeling his chest tighten at the sight of the man, looking perfectly well and watching him with dark eyes that gave nothing away. Clearing his throat softly, he thanked Hinata before stepping into the room, gaze flickering about before skirting his eyes by settling on his mouth. The door slid shut behind him.

“Shin,” he said, for lack of anything better to say. He had so many questions to ask, none of which were particularly important right then. Shin’s arm was in a sling and Naruto could see the edges of white bandages beneath the collar of the dark blue yukata he wore.

Shin gestured to the place across from him before murmuring, “Sit.”

As a reunion, it was hardly ideal. Naruto wasn’t sure what he was expecting (he certainly hadn’t entertained thoughts of a tearful affair where Shin declared his undying affection for Naruto and relinquished all allegiances to ANBU in the name of their torrid romance... but it was close); it all seemed too... normal. As if the last time they’d seen each other hadn’t involved Naruto being dragged off and shouting at the top of his lungs while Shin had walked away, bleeding from a hole in his shoulder.

Even so. The relief Naruto felt when Shin smiled, however small, was overwhelming.

“I... I’m glad you’re okay.”

Shin nodded and picked up his chop sticks. Naruto swallowed and did the same. He poked at his rice, uncertain if eating would sit well with how unsteady his stomach felt. He wanted to speak but didn’t know where or how to start. There were too many things he wanted to ask... What now, Shin? You leave? I never see you again? Just like that? But what he wanted most to say wasn’t a question at all, even though it came with the highest stakes. Please... stay.

Naruto shook his head and mentally laughed. When had he become such a coward? “Look, Shin, I—”

“Sasuke.”

Naruto looked up from where he’d been staring blankly at his bowl. “What?”

Shin met his gaze steadily. “My name is Sasuke.”

Naruto felt all the muscles in his back tense in elation and he wanted to simultaneously laugh and throw himself across the table and just kiss him and kiss him and... Naruto was obliquely aware that at some point, he’d transformed into a love struck girl, but Kiba wasn’t around to belittle him so for the moment, he felt it was allowable. Especially considering the circumstances. He’d reassert his masculinity later by kicking Sasuke’s ass for not sending him word about his well-being.

“Sasuke,” he said and grinned like an idiot. Sasuke, he repeated to himself. Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head, lips quirked. “Eat your food. Then we’ll talk.”

Naruto nodded agreeably and immediately set about clearing his bowl. He watched Sasuke eat with his left hand with no apparent difficulty and Naruto snorted softly. It just figured the guy was ambidextrous.

Just as he finished, there was a knock at the door before it slid open and a woman dressed in a pale pink kimono entered with an empty tray. She bobbed her head politely to them before kneeling and clearing away their dishes. Then she nodded again before leaving. Naruto would have to compliment Hinata on their guest services.

He looked back at Sasuke, who was straightening out the sleeves of his yukata. A stray lock of hair had fallen across his brow and Naruto itched with the desire to reach across and push it back into place, to trail his fingers down that pale cheek and slide his thumb across the swell of his bottom lip.

Closing his eyes briefly, he said, “So. Let’s talk.”

Sasuke nodded and Naruto took it as permission to speak freely.

“What was that party all about?”

Sasuke arched an eyebrow and, instead of answering, said, “Did you hear the news? The mass disappearance of a dozen public figures?”

Naruto nodded warily.

“Neji’s men were able to track his attackers back to their base. That was all ANBU needed to move in. We were able to dismantle their entire organization.”

“What organization? I’m not... I don’t get this.”

“Don’t worry about it. By all rights, I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

“Then why are you?”

Sasuke looked away, something melancholy in his eyes and the tilt of his mouth. “Because I want you to know. So you’ll understand when I leave.”

Naruto felt his breath catch and he suddenly felt unreasonably scared to simply look away from Sasuke, afraid he’d disappear. Irrationally, Naruto wished he had a staple gun.

“Okay,” he whispered.

Sasuke nodded, lashes lowering as he blinked slowly before he looked back at Naruto. “Neji’s father was a minor associate of ANBU. But his twin brother, Hinata’s father, is an advisor to our Commander. Assassins killed Neji’s father, believing him to be Hiashi.”

Naruto frowned but said nothing.

“The assassins were sent from a growing criminal empire, based here in Akita. Neji abandoned his position in ANBU and returned here. He came back undisguised, the prodigal nephew of Hyuuga Hiashi returned from abroad, in order to try and lure out his father’s killers.”

Naruto nodded. He felt distinctly ashamed for all the negative thoughts he’d had towards Neji the entire semester. The guy had been trying to avenge his father’s murder. Naruto could hardly fault him for being an asshole on the heels of losing his father in such a manner.

“We’d been taking down their lower ranking members, but Neji got impatient and wanted someone who actually had the power to send those assassins after his father. Thus the party. The school and the Hyuuga estate are closely guarded by ANBU agents. Opening the estate and making himself a target was as good as a confession to the enemy that he was behind the disappearances of their men. They would have known, of course, that it would be a trap, but fortunately, Neji making a target of himself was too tempting an opportunity to let pass.”

“I can’t forgive him for that,” Naruto said, brows drawn. “For putting all those people in danger. Or for you getting shot.” He ignored the way Sasuke nearly rolled his eyes. “I know you put yourself in front of that bullet, but... but you shouldn’t have had to. Even though I do understand why he’d be impatient, I still think there would have been other ways to find his enemy’s base.”

Sasuke shrugged. “What’s done is done. Neji will be returning to ANBU in a few days. His punishment for deserting the organization will be severe... but the chance is high that he will eventually be allowed to return to his team.”

“And you? Will you be returning to your team as well?”

Sasuke nodded. “I’m scheduled to return with Neji.”

“I... guess you won’t be around much after that.”

Sasuke didn’t reply, but he did give Naruto a long, assessing look. Naruto returned it without embarrassment, unwilling to look away from him.

Then Sasuke stood and reached out to pick up the small table with his one available hand. He carried it across the room to set it against the wall before moving to unfold the futon in the corner. He tossed the blanket on it and sat down, then he turned to face Naruto, hand extended.

Naruto swallowed past the lump that had lodged itself in his throat. He had no idea if he was reading Sasuke correctly, but there was very little that could have stopped him from standing and moving toward that outstretched hand.

Any doubt he had about Sasuke’s intent vanished when Sasuke brushed aside Naruto’s receiving hand and reached up to drag his fingers through Naruto’s hair. Naruto knelt, turning his face into that warm touch and pressing his mouth to Sasuke’s wrist. He watched, riveted, as Sasuke’s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward with the inevitability of any proper good-bye.

Naruto licked his lips and, before he lost his nerve, said, “Look, I... I know I wasn’t too subtle about what I wanted when we became friends, but... but things are kind of different now. A-are you sure?”

While Naruto waited for Sasuke’s reply, his inner voice was shouting, ‘WHAT HAVE YOU JUST DONE, YOU COMPLETE IDIOT?! YOU DESERVE ETERNAL CELIBACY FOR THIS! SEE YOUR LIBIDO? SEE IT PACKING? THIS IS WHAT YOU’LL GET IF SASUKE SAYS NO.’

Sasuke, meanwhile, was giving him an arch look. “You were transparent, yes.”

Naruto, who had never felt particularly embarrassed about his past sexual proclivities, blushed anyway. “Uh... I’d apologize but I’m not actually sorry.” He sucked in his breath and said plainly, “I want you. I’ve wanted you since the first time I saw you in class. I...”

Sasuke tilted his head, lips curved into a small smirk. “Yes or no, Naruto? It’s a simple question.”

Naruto released his breath on a sigh and leaned forward. Sasuke melted against him, even as Naruto pressed harder, lips sliding across lips, his tongue dipping into the crease of Sasuke’s mouth. Sasuke moaned softly as Naruto angled his head, his hands lifting to tentatively cup his jaw. The feeling of apprehension was strange; he didn’t want to screw up. He wanted to give Sasuke something special, something important, something worth remembering.

His hands finally rested against that pale skin, fingers trailing down the slope of his neck before nudging at the collar of his yukata. Sasuke’s hand slid out from hair to tug at the waist of his belt. Naruto dragged his lips down Sasuke’s jaw, flicked his tongue against his earlobe, then placed soft, reverent kisses down the side of Sasuke’s neck. Pushing open the right side of the yukata first, his lips lingered at the edges of Sasuke’s bandages before pressing his mouth lightly to the covered shoulder. Then he slanted his lips along the ridge of his collarbones, stopping only briefly to scrape his teeth along the thin skin, before pushing the left side of the yukata off a pale shoulder. He pressed his face into the curve of muscled skin, feeling Sasuke tremble lightly against him.

“Lay back,” Naruto whispered. Sasuke pulled his arm free of the yukata before Naruto gently eased him back and glanced down to where the yukata had fallen open completely. Then he gaped. “You’re... you’re not wearing any underpants.”

Sasuke’s cheeks looked suspiciously dusty, but otherwise, his expression was bland. “And you still are.”

Naruto blinked rapidly, stared down with overheated cheeks at the flushed pink head of Sasuke’s growing erection and set about discarding his clothes as quickly as humanly possible. Sasuke watched him, intense and focused, lips slightly parted, his chest rising and falling with quick, shallow breaths.

Naked, Naruto crawled over him, mindful of his shoulder, and kissed him, tongue sweeping through his mouth, wanting to taste every nook and crevice of him. Then he inched back downward, licking and nipping at every inch of skin he could reach. He paused at one dusky pink nipple, biting down and tugging just enough to elicit a gasp and a lengthy moan from Sasuke before soothing his tongue over the hardened tip and continuing his descent. He pressed a kiss to each rib, dragged his tongue along the delineation of stomach muscle, sucked lightly at the skin just beneath his belly button and pressed his cheek, eyes tightly closed, against a narrow hip. He laughed softly at the way his hands shook.

“God, Sasuke...” He lifted his head to meet that dark gaze, watching him from beneath a sweep of lashes. “Watch,” he whispered, before turning his head, eyes still locked with Sasuke’s, and pressed his mouth to the side of Sasuke’s cock.

He slid his tongue slowly forward and dragged it up, inch by inch, before taking the damp head into his mouth with a happy groan. Sasuke’s eyes fluttered shut before opening again and he sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, looking exquisitely pained.

Naruto moaned as he lowered his mouth, making sure Sasuke got as clear a view as possible of his cock disappearing between his lips. Then he released him with a wet pop and licked his lips, smirking.

“Naruto,” Sasuke said and Naruto felt his groin burn with the need for relief at the breathless quality of his voice. “In the dresser.”

Naruto reached for the top drawer of the dresser and blindly patted at its contents until his fingers touched a small jar. He pulled it free and grinned at the jar of oil.

“Your shoulder. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’ll be fine,” he said and thrust his hips upward impatiently. Naruto choked on a groan.

“No, I... god, Sasuke, I can’t. I’ll hurt you, I...” He shook his head as Sasuke scowled at him through his mess of dark hair. “Look, we’ll do it this way.” Then he let his legs fall on either side of Sasuke’s hips and smiled wickedly at the way Sasuke’s nostrils flared in understanding.

He uncapped the jar and dipped his fingers in, coating them well before bracing one hand on Sasuke’s stomach and reaching back to push gently at his entrance. He winced at the initial discomfort, but it quickly abated as he pushed deeper. It had been a long time since he’d last slept with anyone, considering the second he’d met Shin—Sasuke—he hadn’t wanted anyone else and even now, the fact that he was finally going to get what he wanted seemed slightly surreal. Granted, it wasn’t him screwing Sasuke against his desk, the window, the cafeteria table, in the shower, or anywhere else his healthy imagination had supplied. But this was just as good, if not better.

He pushed another finger in, moving his hips a bit to stretch himself better and glanced up at Sasuke. Sasuke’s chest had flushed pink, his cheeks even darker with color as he watched, jaw slack and more beautiful than anyone had a right to be. Naruto pulled his fingers free with a sigh and reached for more oil. He wrapped his hand around Sasuke’s cock, stroking firmly and coating it thoroughly before reluctantly pulling away.

He watched Sasuke’s face, unable to look away, as he positioned himself and slowly sank down on Sasuke’s cock. Sasuke let out a low groan, his entire body tensed. Naruto didn’t look away. He wanted Sasuke to know he had his complete attention, that he wasn’t thinking of anything else but how to move for him, how to roll his hips and squeeze down until Sasuke was mewling against the sheets.

“Naruto,” he gasped before his hips jerked upward. Naruto groaned and clamped his legs around his hips, stilling him.

“Don’t,” he said. “You’ll hurt yourself.”

“I’m fine,” he said between clenched teeth before he dug the fingers of his left hand into Naruto’s thigh and snapped his hips upward. Naruto found he couldn’t argue.

He made a strangled sound and moved with him, letting gravity do most of the work. His thighs burned but he continued to thrust downward in long, hard strokes, relishing the way Sasuke’s gaze burned into his, the way his eyes tracked over his face, his chest, the erection bobbing between his thighs and then back again to his face to start the visual trek all over again. He dragged blunt nails from Naruto’s hip to trail through the short blond hairs at the base of his cock.

“Touch me,” Naruto demanded roughly, breathlessly. And Sasuke did, rubbing his palm against the tip of his cock, smearing the clear fluid against his hand before gripping him firmly and sliding his hand down the length. Naruto shuddered and babbled noisily, dimly hoping no one was occupying the nearby rooms.

“Nngh, Naruto,” Sasuke said in warning.

He thrust up with little rhythm as Naruto bore down, quick and frantic, breath thin in his lungs. Then he cried out, eyes fluttering shut, back arching like a bow string beneath Naruto as he came. Naruto watched him, still, savoring the sight and committing it to memory.

Then he slid his hand over Sasuke’s on him and stroked himself faster, their joined hands and the way he continued to grind downward in urgent little shimmies enough to push him over the edge.

oOo

Naruto spent the weekend at the Hyuuga estate, dodging concerned phone calls from his friends, and resisting the urge to throw Sasuke in a potato sack and tell Neji he’d skipped town. The two barely left his room, Naruto finding it far too difficult to not touch Sasuke and, for a change, Sasuke let him and returned the affection with a heartrending sort of frantic undertone.

Then, Monday morning, Naruto pressed his face into the side of Sasuke’s neck before letting him go and watching him and Neji leave in a sleek black car.

oOo

Naruto returned to Kyoto for summer break, spending the lazy month of August strolling the crowded streets and renewing old friendships. His foster parents remarked on his physical changes, how much he’d grown, how he needed a hair cut. His friends wondered at how subdued he’d become and then promptly regretted it when he spent the next week making up a ‘word of the day’ and singing at the top of his lungs whenever anyone said it.

End of August, Naruto returned to Akita with bated breath, unwilling to come to terms with Sasuke’s departure until the first day of classes and Sarutobi Shin remained absent from among the returning freshman.

oOo

Two months into the semester, Naruto returned to his dorm to the braying tones of Kiba’s voice echoing down the hallway.

“...got some nerve, showing your face here again. Who the hell do you think you are?”

Naruto approached with trepidation. He peered into the room to see which hapless student was on the receiving end of Kiba’s temper.

At the sight of Sasuke sitting in Naruto’s swivel chair, arms crossed and looking unimpressed, Naruto lost his footing and landed on his face.

Both men turned to see him sprawled in the doorway, a red mark blooming on his cheek. He shuffled to his feet, glancing wildly between Sasuke and Kiba. “Saaasssshin! Shin!”

Kiba frowned at him. “Just give me a sec, Naruto, I—”

Naruto ignored him. “What are you...?” That was all he could manage before his body moved forward, strolling across the distance to tug Sasuke into a hug.

Behind him, he heard the distinctly hollow sound of Kiba slapping a hand over his forehead. “Oh for... I’ll be down the hall at Shino’s if you need me.”

Naruto cupped Sasuke’s face and was kissing him before Kiba even cleared the room. He still tasted the same, cool and sweet like spring rain.

When he finally pulled away, they were both short of breath. Sasuke gave him an amused look. “I take it you missed me.”

“Don’t even try to pretend you didn’t miss me either,” Naruto said and kissed him again because it seemed he had lost all other cognitive abilities.

“Wait, wait,” Sasuke said against his lips before gently disentangling himself. Naruto heaved a breath and nodded, stepping back to let them both get some air.

“What... what are you doing here?” Naruto asked, despite that he was half afraid of the answer.

Sasuke retook his seat in the chair. “Just visiting.” Naruto tried not to focus on the way his stomach dropped. “The official records say Sarutobi Shin transferred from AIU to Tokyu University at the end of the last semester.”

Naruto squared his shoulders. “So you’re not coming back. What is this then? A second good-bye?” He didn’t know if he could take watching Sasuke leave again.

“I won’t be returning as a student, no.”

Naruto paused. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Sasuke shifted in his seat and stared intently down at his shoe. If Naruto hadn’t known Sasuke was incapable of being anything less than direct, he would have said Sasuke was looking... insecure? “Neji has offered me a room in his estate, for when I’m not on missions. I thought perhaps... you’d like to keep me company.”

Naruto felt his throat close with an emotion he wasn’t willing to voice just yet. His chest felt full to bursting and, instead of replying, he dropped himself in Sasuke’s lap, straddling his hips and placing furious kisses on his mouth, cheeks, nose, chin, any patch of skin he could reach. He ran his hands down Sasuke’s shoulders, pleased to feel the lack of bandages.

It wasn’t the answer Naruto had been hoping for. He would have Sasuke, but ANBU would still have him first. With time though, Naruto thought perhaps he could change that. For now, just being able to keep him at all was more than enough.

“You could have—” He kissed Sasuke’s eyelids, “called or—” the tip of his nose, “sent a letter.” His cheekbone. “An email.” His jaw and then the corner of his lips. “Something, god, you’re such an ass, why do I like you again?” He jerked down the corner of Shin’s shirt to expose his right shoulder and the pink scar where he’d been shot. “...That’s actually really hot.”

Sasuke pulled away. “Naruto,” he said, waiting until Naruto had met his gaze with an angry pout. “Shut up and get undressed.”

Naruto continued to curse him, but took off his shirt anyway.

The End.

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A/N: MWUAHAHAHAHA I FINISHED OMG *dies* Thank you to everyone who helped me with this as well as everyone who read this and didn't keel over from the idiocy ^^;;; Now that I've gotten over writing AU, there is a tiny, itty bitty, miniscule sliver of chance I may some day write it again (if Adi is a pest about it). For now, let's call it a day :3