**

The morning after.

He wished that such a thing didn't exist.

The morning after was like the nagging friend. It woke you up when all you wanted to do was sleep. Then it proceeded to remind you of all the things you did the previous night and watched you slap yourself in the forehead, wondering just why the hell those things seemed like such brilliant ideas: staying up later than you had intended when you knew you should've been sleeping. Ignoring the voice in your head that had reminded you of work the next morning. Work was overrated really, wasn't it? As long as you were coherent enough to at least look like you could run a village that was all that mattered, right?

And of course, sleeping with him... again.

Naruto groaned and rolled away from the first rays of sunlight that crept in from the window. The morning after was trying to shake him awake and whisper in his ear. I told you so it would say to him with a disapproving glare I told you so, but you do this every time. With quick reflexes Naruto had the covers pulled up over his head in a silent protest to the morning after. If he ignored it, it would go away.

But the morning after was a persistent little bitch.

After five minutes of hiding in his custom made shield, the morning after sought out assistance in getting him up. The morning shower. Naruto sat up in his bed, any sort of order that may have been in his hair taken away by the comfort of his pillow and the previous night's seemingly wonderful ideas. He glanced over to see the door to his bathroom wide open, making sure that he could hear each and every drop of shower water hit the tile of his wall, the shower floor, the glass door...

... and the previous night's guest.

Naruto sighed and flopped back down into the bed. Damnit. I told you so said the morning after, wagging its finger at him. I told you so, but you do this every time. He could just see that man standing in his shower, treating it as his own. He would use Naruto's shampoo to wash his hair, a breeze of the sea surrounding the bathroom. He would use Naruto's soap as if he had bought it at the store. Naruto knew that his quote, unquote guest had already gone into the closet in the hallway, already knowing where all the extra towels were. Damnit. And he could just see that man washing himself, scrubbing the towel over arms that had just held him hours ago. Over a chest that Naruto had scratched his nails over in silent worship of a body that he swore had to be molded from the best of materials. A smooth pale colored peach. A contrasting feel of fabric softened sheets and strength created from years of training. He could see that towel move lower, over the flat surface of a stomach, caressing over thighs, down to the legs and back up to wash in between those legs.

Naruto shivered and pulled the blanket over himself again. Damnit. Damn that man in his shower.

"Naruto?" Naruto peeked out from his blanket when he heard his name being called from the bathroom. "You know you could stop damning me to hell and join me in the shower."

"Screw you, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "Just hurry up and shower then leave!" And he could just see that smirk on the Uchiha's face. Damn him. Damn him! Damn him and his irritating smirks and forever know-it-all looks. Why, why had he let this man into his house? What in the name of all the hidden villages had he been thinking?

Well. Sasuke had said to him last night. Standing at his door as if he had belonged there. Uchiha Sasuke. The same Sasuke that had left the village without even giving it a second glance. The same Sasuke that had fought with Naruto, damn near killed Naruto, and left him there lying in a shower of pain.

But no regrets. Never any regrets. Sasuke had known what he was doing, had always known ever since he had introduced himself as a member of the team that only existed in memories now. Team Seven.

Well what? Naruto had asked, making sure that he was blocking the entrance into his house. He had every intention of not playing these games with Sasuke.

Naruto had the decency to spare Sasuke a glance as he answered his question. No. The plan after that bold statement had been to slam the door in Sasuke’s face, but Sasuke had managed to catch the door with his hand before Naruto could close it. Leave, Sasuke.

For what? Sasuke had asked, smirking. It’s not like you weren’t expecting me.

--a long time ago, that’s what you were going to say right? You left the village a long time ago and never looked back. You know, Hokage-sama… Naruto’s eyes had narrowed dangerously at the mocking tone of voice. … I don’t understand why you must play these games with me every time. You know what today is, I know you do.

The water in the shower was cut off and Naruto felt the morning after laughing at him. You brought this on yourself, Uzumaki, now you have to deal with it.

Naruto took a deep breath and turned his head towards the bathroom door.

Oh holy hell. Sasuke was only wearing a fuzzy white towel around his waist and he hadn’t even bothered to dry himself off. His hair was flat, framing his face like droplets of rain that clung to your skin. Naruto's eyes couldn't help it. They watched each and every drop trail down over Sasuke's body. His eyes focused on two particular drops that seemed to be having a race, who could make it to the edge of Sasuke's towel first? Drop number one was knocked out the race when it suddenly crashed into one of Sasuke's nipples, but the water drop didn't seem to mind very much. Hell, Naruto wouldn't mind eithe-- Naruto quickly ducked his head down. Maybe there was something on the floor to distract himself with.

Clothes.

The robes of the Hokage were spread out on the floor like a welcome mat. Underneath the robes was the clothes Naruto had been wearing yesterday, a simple pair of black slacks and orange tank top. Orange jumpsuits didn't really go with the Hokage robes, he had tried before and it just hadn't worked out. Buried underneath the robes were two forehead protectors, both belonging to Naruto. The one he wore on his forehead, proudly displaying the village he was now the leader of, and the one he wore around his waist like a belt.

The one Sasuke had left behind all those years ago.

And on top of the robes were Sasuke's clothes. Naruto frowned at those clothes, frowned at how fast he himself had gotten those clothes off of Sasuke once his own clothes were gone. The forehead protector had been the first to go. The protector that was no longer a part of the village they had been together in. Naruto had made sure that it wasn't anywhere near his bed. Sasuke had chuckled at him for it and Naruto once again wondered, why the hell did he let this man into his house?

Ah, so we're doing this again are we? Sasuke had asked, crossing his arms at his chest. The, trying to pretend that I don't care about that bastard's birthday, routine. We do this every year, Naruto.

Every year. Naruto had no idea how the little tradition had started. One of Naruto's birthdays had him face to face with Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke had just looked at him and said nothing else except: happy birthday. Then he had left, as if he were simply returning to his old home in the village.

The following year, on Sasuke's birthday, had the Uchiha boy standing at Naruto's door again. Naruto had wanted to ask him so much, wanted to ask him where the hell he had been all this time, wanted to ask him to stay and not leave, but Sasuke shook his head. When Naruto had tried to ask him why Sasuke simply told him: because, it's my birthday.

And it had been like that ever since. Every year, every birthday, Sasuke had been there. And every year, every birthday, Naruto had kicked himself in the ass for letting that boy in. Because as the years passed they had grown further and further apart. As the years passed it had become more and more obvious that they were enemies and there was no hope of Sasuke ever coming back home.

It had gotten to the point of Naruto believing that Sasuke kept Itachi alive for the thrill of revenge, to hold onto the idea that one day he would be dead. Because Sasuke had so much power now that Naruto knew he could kill Itachi... if he really wanted to. But Itachi being alive meant that there was a reason to get stronger, Itachi being dead meant that the quest for power was over.

As the years passed it had become more and more frustrating. Naruto had spent so much time looking for Sasuke, trying to get him back, coming back home with nothing but anger, sadness, hopelessness.

But birthdays, on those days there Sasuke was, standing at his door as if nothing devastating had ever happened between them. As if he lived right down the street and could be reached at anytime of the day.

Yeah? Naruto had said, frowning. Well, I don't care this year. I don't give a fuck about you or your birthday.

So what would you call this relationship we have? Sasuke had stepped closer to Naruto. It’s not exactly a one-night stand if you keep letting me come back for these little birthday parties.

I don’t know what you’re talking about. Naruto had tried to close the door again but Sasuke moved quickly, this time catching Naruto’s hand and pulling it close to his lips. Naruto tried, he really had tried to not respond but he couldn’t help the small shiver that ran down his spine. I don’t give a damn about your birthday, Uchiha.

Oh really, Uzumaki? Sasuke had always been an unfair bastard. He just had to make his voice rumble like that and had to brush his lips against Naruto’s knuckles, had to trail his tongue across his fingers with a hungry looking smirk on his face. Care to explain the chocolate icing I taste on your fingers?

“Penny for your thoughts, Naruto?” Sasuke asked, standing in front of Naruto now. It took all of Naruto’s willpower to not look at that towel around Sasuke’s waist. It was a rather annoying piece of cloth, blocking his view of-- "Ah, I see where your thoughts are.”

“Shut up.” Naruto pulled the blanket tighter around himself. It was always best to deal with Sasuke-bastards with some form of clothing, even if it was the same blanket that was wrapped around them last night. “Why aren’t you getting dressed?”

“It’s still my birthday. I can get dressed when I want to.”

“You always leave right after you shower.” Naruto muttered. “You shower, get dressed, and leave without saying anything.”

“And here I thought you’d want me to stay a little longer.”

"You... want to stay longer?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Might as well stay and enjoy the cake you made me last night, right?" He turned and leaned down to grab his pants, the towel falling and forgotten on the floor. Deep breaths, Naruto. He had already let the man have him last night. Several times last night. Sex. One of those things that wore you out, but with just the right word or touch all your energy could be magically restored to your body. Like when you could train for hours or when you were getting your ass kicked in a mission then suddenly you got back up and saved the day. Sex. If it were a jutsu it would be the most dangerous one of all.

Sasuke turned to face Naruto, his hands holding onto his pants so he could slip them on. Then he smirked. Hell, it was his birthday right? The pants joined the towel on the floor like a forgotten memory as Sasuke walked over to Naruto. Naruto just sighed and got up from his bed to meet Sasuke halfway, the blanket still wrapped around his body. It didn't take long for their lips to crash together in a passionate embrace that was supposed to be extinguished last night. This was why Sasuke was supposed to be gone in the morning, otherwise this train-wreck of a relationship would start all over again. What would this look like to others? The two boys who had so many chances in the past finally together, only on opposite sides. Naruto, the Hokage of the village Sasuke had abandoned long ago. Naruto, the Hokage, kissing Sasuke like this. Kissing "that man," kissing the name that was never spoken in the village. The name that was erased out of everyone’s memories to be replaced with “that man.”

Their beloved Sasuke, now they all depended on Naruto, the one they had loved to hate. The one who, once upon a time, had a name that was treated worse than Sasuke’s name was being treated now. How ironic.

And here they were. Sasuke and Naruto. Eternal rivals. Destined enemies. Sasuke moved his hands quickly and snatched the blanket away from Naruto, dropping it onto the ground and leaving the other naked in his arms, their bodies pressed together so tightly that it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. They blindly tried to remember where the bed was. It was needed. Now. The bed would've directed them if it could but it was only a mere bed. All it could do was sit and watch the two stumble around the room, so drunk on each other that the concept of just walking backwards a few steps to get to the bed was too much to grasp onto. Instead they ended up walking forward, their feet stepping over each other’s clothes. If only the villagers knew how many times "that man" had walked over the robes of the Hokage.

If only they knew how many times Naruto had allowed him to.

Sasuke found himself pressed back against the edge of the wall. Opening his eyes he realized that they were right by the bathroom door. He tried to focus ahead of him, he had a vague memory of the bed being there, but he couldn't quite concentrate with Naruto kissing at his neck the way he was. "N-Naruto... wait... the bed..."

"Huh?" Naruto looked up to see that indeed, this was not his bed. He glanced behind him and chuckled breathlessly. "Oh. Let's try that again." But Naruto wasn't able to walk two feet without Sasuke grabbing his arm and pulling him into another kiss. If it could the bed would sigh softly in defeat. Now the two of them were stumbling to the right and with a loud crash of protest from the dresser Naruto found himself being pressed against the wooden drawers, anything that was on the dresser clattering down on top of it. Sasuke wrapped an arm around Naruto, pulling him tightly against his body as they gave each other powerful kisses that would leave their lips passionately bruised. Sometime during the kiss Naruto's fingers had found a resting place in Sasuke's hair, buried deep in the forest of black with no hope of ever finding a way out. Those fingers moved slowly through Sasuke's hair, massaging his scalp and lazily running through the dark locks like sensual rivers that caused Sasuke to rock his body against Naruto's.

There was something different about this time. Each time Naruto had protested to Sasuke's annoying sex appeal he still had a small hint of that nagging voice in the back of his head. He specifically remembered hearing that voice last night. He remembered hearing an overly intelligent version of himself telling him how much he'd regret it, reminding him of the morning after and how it would tease him mercilessly over what he had been letting Sasuke do. But then Sasuke had leaned over him in the bed, watched him with eyes clouded, eyes reduced to complete simplicity. Want. You. Now.

Naruto had been watching him too, his own eyes robbed of any sort of common sense. Sasuke bad. That had been such an easy concept all those years ago. When he was twelve and in severe denial saying those two simple words at least made him feel better. Sasuke. BAD. But now being the adult he was his mind had been able to twist those two words into something too damn erotic for their own good. Sasuke. Bad. Oh hell yes, he was bad. Bad like cigarettes but you found yourself saying, "Just one more, this is the last one I promise then I'll quit." Bad like sweets but you found yourself saying, "How can chocolate be a bad thing?"

So when the voice had keep repeating itself and reminding Naruto of the severe mistake he had been making Naruto simply blocked it out with his own cries, his own desire, his own movements in the bed with Sasuke that made it thump back and fourth against the wall.

But something was different about this time, this moment now. Something different about having this man pressed against him like this. Something different in the flavor of the kiss. Something different about the way Sasuke urged Naruto to turn around, the way Naruto pressed the palms of his hands against the dresser, the way Sasuke rubbed against his backside, his breath hotly caressing his back and rising up to his neck. There was something…

Then as he felt Sasuke slide inside of him he realized what it was.

Might as well stay and enjoy the cake you made me last night, right? Sasuke had asked this morning. This morning. Morning. Oh gods, it was morning. It was morning and Sasuke was still here.

You always leave right after you shower. Naruto gripped onto the dresser tightly, his hands shaking so much that the dresser was shivering against the wall. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto’s waist, holding him close with heavy breaths brushing against his ear. “We’re going to do things differently this year.”

“Bastard.” Naruto hissed out. You shower, get dressed, and leave without saying anything. “You’re supposed… to be gone…”

“Why?” Sasuke smirked. “Is it too bright in here for you?”

“Fuck you!”

Sasuke only smirked more, cupping Naruto’s chin with his hand and tilting his head back so he could look into his eyes. “You don’t want to face this, do you? You don’t want to admit that you let that man into your village and let him fuck you senseless. So you do it at night. You let me into your house at night, share birthday cake with me, and bring me into your bedroom.”

“D-don’t… say it like that…” Fuck was such an ugly word in the morning.

“Why, Naru-chan?” Sasuke let his nails trail over Naruto’s chest as he began to move inside of him, his other hand already playing in between his legs as if trying to make him melt all over the dresser. “Something wrong with me reducing it to just plain fucking?” Sasuke growled out into his ear. “Kinda like how you wake up and pray that I am gone in the morning, isn’t it?”

“N-no… no it’s not the same…”

“Oh really?” Sasuke reached over and grabbed onto Naruto’s wrists, pinning them tightly down to the dresser as he moved faster, harder, deeper. Naruto cried out in protest, trying to pull his hands away, trying to gain some kind of control. “I watch you in the mornings, Naruto.”

“St-stop… stop Sasuke…”

“I watch you when you think I’m gone, but I watch you. You make sure you wash your clothes, to get my scent off of them. You take a shower, a long shower, scrubbing yourself with that damn towel like you’re trying to get rid of the skin I touched.”

“Sasuke! Stop!” He was moving too fast inside of him and the grip he had on his wrists hurt. The dresser was knocking against the wall as if it had a grudge against it, banging into it with intentions of breaking it. But the wall couldn't move, couldn't get away, all it could do was hope that it would be over soon and that it would come out of this free of any bruises or pain.

It was angry sex. It was angry and it hurt. At night none of these feelings were addressed. That’s what made the night so enjoyable. Night covered the things that should’ve, would’ve, could’ve been said. Night pushed those things away, procrastinated on them until morning.

And when the morning after hit Naruto had his senses back and cursed himself for falling into the night. So matters were never discussed. Matters were forgotten like a bad taste in Naruto's mouth and any memory of ever letting Uchiha into his house, let alone his bed, was disposed of.

What hurt more, Naruto wondered. The sex? Or Sasuke’s words?

“And when you get dressed the first thing you do is go into the kitchen and get rid of the rest of the birthday cake you made for me. You throw it in the garbage. You throw it away! You throw me away!”

“You did the same to me!” Naruto screamed. “You did the same thing! Let go of me, let go you’re hurting me!”

“This is what you want, right?” The dresser slammed back into the wall, the objects on top of it sliding down to the ground. The fragile things shattered, in desperate need of repair. “You want it to mean nothing when you know it does. You want me to fuck you, hurt you, so you have reason to tell yourself that this is wrong.”

“I’m not the one who left!”

“But at least when I left I admitted that we had something!” Something else shattered. Something pretty valuable, they could tell from the volume of its crash into the floor. “I told you that we had a bond. I told you that we were close. I at least said that much even if we were enemies at the time.”

“You told me that you were going to break our bond. You said that to me! You didn’t care! You threw me away, Sasuke! And now you want me to make love to you in the morning like nothing happened between us!”

“You don’t understand anything.” Sasuke finally stopped moving but still kept a hold of Naruto’s wrists. Naruto closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to get any hint of tears not to appear. “Did I break our bond?”

Naruto was quiet for a moment then he took another deep breath, nodding his head. “Yes.”

“No. I didn’t.” Sasuke let go of Naruto’s wrists and slid out of him. Naruto’s knees gave up on the concept of standing and instead he dropped to the ground, sitting there, his back still to Sasuke. “I couldn’t.”

“You wanted to kill me.”

“And I didn’t.”

“So is that supposed to make everything better? Years of you being gone, away from me?”

“No.”

"You leave in the mornings. You do that on your own."

"Do I really?" Sasuke chuckled softly at that. "I don't stay where I'm not wanted."

"Bullshit." Naruto whispered, still not facing Sasuke. But he could hear him sliding his clothes on, could practically see in his mind the Uchiha man preparing to leave his house until another birthday came along. "If that were true you would've stayed in this village."

"Did this village really want me?" The bed squeaked when Sasuke sat on it to pull on his boots, squeaked as if it were afraid of him. "You're a hypocrite, you know that?"

"What do you mean?"

"You did anything, gave anything, to become Hokage of this village. You gave anything for your dream. But the minute I go for mine I'm suddenly the bad guy."

"You went to Orochimaru!"

"I went to him. I never said I was going to stay there."

"You... you ran away from us! From me!"

"Of course I did! You were trying to stop me from having my dream. So I left. You following me is what caused our fight, if you hadn't followed after me then it would've never happened." At this statement Naruto did turn to look at Sasuke, glaring at him.

"Don't you dare blame all that stuff on me!"

"Doesn't feel so good, does it? When you're blamed for all the bad things that happened between us." Sasuke slid out of the bed and walked over to Naruto, kneeling down in front of him and gently taking his chin. He moved his fingers over Naruto's cheeks, over the marks there as if wiping tears away. "This village is a prison, Naruto."

"Don't give me that crap, Sasuke."

"You know it is." Sasuke's voice had gotten softer. "This village accepts you as long as you do what it wants you to do. This village spent most of your life hating you. This village spent most of my life loving me. But the minute I do something different I'm hated, and the minute it lost its prodigy it turned to you for a new one."

Naruto watched Sasuke, watched his eyes, watched all the different levels of emotions pass through them. Anger. Sadness. Guilt. Betrayal. "So, is this the part where you tell me to come with you?" Naruto whispered, his voice laced on the edge of trembling.

"No." Sasuke lightly kissed Naruto's forehead, right where his forehead protector would be. "You love this village too much. And that's one of the things I admire about you. You can still love something after all the wrong it has done to you." And with those words Uchiha Sasuke stood up to leave. Naruto watched him quietly, watched him walk out of his bedroom and listened to him walk down the hallway to the front door. Naruto sat there, his eyes locked on the window.

Funny, he had expected it to start raining after that little speech. It was so blurry by the window, wet. When had that happened? Naruto blinked a few times, his eyes widening when he felt something trickle down his cheek. Wet. Warm. He raises his hand to his face, his fingers brushing over his eyes. Damp. Was he crying? He hadn't cried over Sasuke in so long. Was this what he was doing, crying over that man? He stood up, feeling a need to grab tissue and dry his eyes to make the blurry scenery go away. But as he stood his eyes looked to the ground.

Then he froze.

On the ground in front of him was one single wet spot, a tiny one, the perfect shape of a tear that Naruto hadn't shed.

Sasuke.

The front door closed, signaling Sasuke's exit out of his house. Naruto closed his eyes, the echo of the door closing surrounding him like a thick smell that didn't want to go away. There was no voice in the back of his head nagging him. There was no morning after telling him how much of an idiot he was. There was just him, standing there with the continued loop of the door closing ringing through his ears. Then with quick steps Naruto moved over to his clothes, slipping them back on without washing them, skipping the shower since there was no time at the moment. He stopped though when his hand brushed against the Hokage robes, his eyes looking to the two forehead protectors he had. With a deep breath he threw those on and ran to the front door.

And there Sasuke was, walking away with his hands shoved in his pockets, ready to disappear into the trees before anyone could see him.

Naruto closed his eyes, smiled...

... and sang.

"Happy birthday to you." Sasuke stopped, glancing behind him and just staring at Naruto. The Hokage. The leader of this village. "Happy birthday to you." Standing there, singing to him in what had to be the cutest voice he had ever heard. Soft, a bit hesitant and wondering what the hell he was doing, but still very Naruto, still very bright and smiling. "Happy birthday, dear Sasuke." And he put emphasis on his name, making sure he heard it, making sure if there happened to be anyone in the area that they'd hear it too. "Happy birthday to you."

Sasuke couldn't help it. Damnit he tried, god knows he tried but he couldn't help it. He smiled. And for the first time in years Naruto returned the smile, smiled at him, finally. "Hey." Naruto said from the door. "Why don't you come in and we'll finish the rest of the birthday cake."

"Come back for the cake, huh?"

"If you don't come back for anything else," Naruto said as he pushed his door open more, Sasuke walking towards him, "Come back for the birthday cake."