Meeting
Sasuke sat in his favorite chair before the fire, gazing, unseeing, into the flames. Naruto permeated his house, his thoughts, his dreams. Never before had someone affected him like this, taking hold of his every waking moment, tormenting him with his very soul by being near. He spent his nights hovering near the blond while he slept, watching him, listening to him breathe, to the beat of his heart, the sound of the blood flowing through his veins. The boy always smelled of cinnamon. Even when the hunger lay dormant within him, he was drawn beyond his power to resist being with the blond, to touch the smoothness of his cheek, to run his fingers over plump lips and imagine his own mouth there.
Naruto was so beautiful, this child–man who wandered through his house by day and sustained Sasuke through the night. He knew the boy’s thoughts, and heard the tears he sometimes shed in the night.
It pleased him to satisfy the blond’s every want, to dress him in fine clothes, to provide the best food and wine that money could buy. He took pride in Naruto’s ability to learn, and ordered books and music he thought would please the young boy.
It was the least he could do, he thought, for the blond gave him life, and no matter how he tried, Sasuke could never repay him for that.
He knew the moment Naruto fell asleep. He heard the change in his breathing, felt a change in the house itself, as if the life went out of it while the blond slumbered.
He decided he would not go to the blond tonight. He would take to the streets and ease his craving there. Yet even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew it for the lie it was. Already, he was rising, the blond’s innocence calling him, beckoning him, the single light in the darkness of his very existence.
Soundlessly, he climbed the stairs and opened the door to the bedroom. Naruto had locked his door each night, but no lock made could keep him out. And then he was standing beside the bed, gazing down at him. It was a warm night, and Naruto had thrown off the covers. His night shirt had ridden up, exposing smooth, flat and soft tanned skin of his belly.
Sasuke felt his body stirred to life, hunger and desire riding him with whip and spurs as he sat down on the bed beside the slumbering blond. He was bending over when he realized that the blond was awake and blue eyes were staring at him.
Certain it was a dream, Naruto closed his eyes and opened them again. The tall dark figure was still there, hovering over him, like smoke.
"Lord Sasuke?" He couldn't see the darked haired man’s face in the darkness, yet he knew somehow that it was he.
"Go to sleep, Naruto," he murmured. "You're very tired. Your eyelids are heavy, so heavy you can no longer keep them open."
"No …” Naruto grumbled in defiance.
"Sleep, sweet Naruto. Sleep is what you need."
Sasuke’s voice was deep and melodic, winding around him like a soft cocoon. He couldn’t stop his eyelids from shutting and he found himself following a narrow path through the darkness. He tried to turn back, but his feet refused to obey. He could feel his heart racing; could hear the blood pounding in his ears as he drew ever closer, wondering who awaited him in the shadows tonight. Was it the man who wrapped him in his arms and held him as if he were a precious gift, or the one who preyed upon his flesh. Would he awake feeling loved and protected, or sobbing with fright? Or would this be the night he wouldn't awaken at all?
Naruto jerked awake to the sound of his own cries. Disoriented, he looked around, his pulse gradually slowing as he realized the nightmare was over and he was safe in his room.
He glanced at the bedroom door and saw the key was still in the lock. It had all been a dream, and yet this one had been so real, so vivid, Naruto would have sworn Lord Sasuke had entered the room last night, that he had awakened to find him sitting on the bed, his dark eyes glowing with an unholy light as he leaned towards him.
Naruto shook his head to clear the images from his mind. Just a dream. That's all it had been, just a dream. He combed his fingers through his hair down to his neck, his fingers pausing as they encountered what felt like an insect bite.
Naruto spent the day in his room and tried to study his lessons, but couldn't concentrate. He attempted a nap, but sleep eluded him. He also had no appetite for lunch.
Iruka looked in on him several times, his brow lined with concern. Once, Naruto asked Iruka to look at the marks on his neck. A shadow passed over Iruka’s eyes as he examined the tiny wounds. ‘It's nothing, young master,’ Iruka had assured. ‘A bite of some kind, I would say. Perfectly harmless.’
At dusk, he shook off his fatigue, bathed, and dressed for supper.
Iruka had just served the first course when Naruto felt a sudden tingle. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Lord Sasuke standing in the doorway, dressed, as before, in impeccable black.
"My lord," Nartuo whispered, startled by his unexpected appearance, unnerved by the fact that he was a man of title and property, while he was nothing more than the man’s servant, no matter that he had yet to serve him in any way.
Sasuke motioned for him as he took the chair across from the blond. "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Of course not. It's your house, after all." Naruto toyed with his napkin while Sasuke settled back in his chair. A moment later, Iruka entered the room bearing a crystal decanter and a wine glass, which he set in front of Sasuke.
"Thank you, Iruka," Sasuke said. "That will be all."
"As you wish, my lord. Good evening, young master."
When they were alone again, Sasuke studied the young man’s face, noting the faint smudges beneath his eyes. "You are well?"
"Yes, my lord." Naruto managed to respond.
"And are you happy here?"
Naruto looked away, biting his bottom lip. "I am not unhappy, my lord." He gestured at the platters of meat and fowl in the center of the table. "Will you not eat something, my lord? Iruka is a very fine cook." Naruto felt his cheeks heat up. "I don't suppose I need tell you that," he chuckled nervously.
A faint smile hovered over Sasuke’s lips. "Thank you, but no. How are your lessons coming along?"
"Nicely, I think. Iruka says I have a talent for music, but it's reading I love.” Naruto smiled at the thoughts of reading the various books.
"Indeed?"
"Oh, yes! Tales of brave knights and fair ladies, far-off lands, dragons and sorcerers."
Sasuke's hands clenched in his lap as he watched Naruto’s face, so alive, so expressive. So young. Heat flowed through him as the blond went on, his voice filled with the excitement of discovery.
Had he ever been that young, that eager to learn?
Naruto bit down on his lip, suddenly conscious of Sasuke's gaze on his face. Those eyes, as black as midnight mist, seemed to be searching his very soul.
“I-I'm sorry," Naruto stammered. "I didn't mean to run on like that. It must seem silly to you."
"Not at all. Perhaps..." Sasuke took a deep breath. "Perhaps you would read aloud to me this evening?”
"Oh. I-I'm still learning. I'm afraid you would soon be bored." Naruto glanced up through his eye lashes, feeling shy suddenly.
"It would please me very much, Naruto."
"Very well then, if you're sure."
"Quite sure."
"Would you care for a glass of wine, my lord?" Naruto quickly asked. Sasuke nodded, and Naruto lifted the decanter and filled the glass, noting, for the first time, that the wine was dark and red. Like blood.
Sasuke’s fingertips brushed Naruto’s as he took the glass. Naruto gasped when little frissons of heat leapt from the dark haired man’s skin to his, jumbled images that suddenly filled his mind, images of a man writhing in pain, bleeding, screaming.
As quickly as it had appeared, the vision was gone, leaving Naruto to wonder if he had seen anything at all.
Sasuke leaned back in his chair, his gaze fixed upon the blond’s face. Had Naruto felt it, too, the mystical flame that had sparked between them? He had sensed and glimpsed a spring of hope within the young blond haired man, a yearning for a home and family of his own, longing for the home he had left behind. What, if anything, had Naruto sensed in him?
Naruto took a deep breath, unsettled by the tension between them. "Would you mind if I shared your wine?"
"I doubt you would find it to your liking."
Blue eyes glanced at the dark liquid in the decanter, then he reached for his own glass, which was filled with water.
"Finish your supper, Naruto," Sasuke said. "You need to keep up your strength."
"Why? I never do anything more strenuous than play the piano."
"Because you're hungry,” Sasuke said firmly.
Obediently, Naruto picked up his fork and began to eat. He was hungry, after all.
Later, Sasuke sat in a chair before the fire, sipping from his wine glass, while Naruto read to him. Time and again, blue eyes glanced in his direction, expecting Sasuke to be bored or asleep, but always he found Sasuke watching him, his fathomless black eyes burning with a strange fire, a warmth hotter and more penetrating than the heat radiating from the crackling flames in the hearth.
"Tell me about yourself," Sasuke said, surprising them both.
"There's little to tell, my lord. I grew up with lady Chiyo, and I was the oldest in the house." His voice turned sad. "Chiyo sold me for the sake of the others. Surely that tells you all you need to know."
"It tells me she needed money."
"I guess she could have sold the horse."
A wry smile curled Sasuke's lip. "And would you have pulled the plow in the horse's stead?"
Naruto lifted his chin defiantly. "I have done so in the past."
Naruto’s admission touched a chord within him. Proud, he was, in spite of the poverty he grew up in. "You'll never have to do so again."
"Why did you buy me?" Naruto bluntly asked.
Sasuke shrugged, unable to admit the truth. "Why do you think?"
"I don't know." Naruto slid, his gaze slid away. "I thought that... I mean…” Naruto’s voice and eyes trailed off.
"Go on. What did you think?" Sasuke prompted.
"Nothing."
"Tell me."
Naruto heard the sliver of steel beneath Sasuke’s softly spoken command. "I thought you bought me so I wouldn't have to disrobe in front of the others."
"You're very perceptive, Naruto."
"But why? You never…" Fire climbed into his cheeks, and Naruto bent his head to the book.
"I never bedded you?"
Naruto didn't look up, but nodded.
"And that bothers you?" Sasuke raised a brow of interest.
"Oh, no," Naruto said quickly. It didn't bother him, not really, although it stung his pride to think Sasuke found him so ugly as to be completely undesirable.
"Naruto, look at me." Slowly, blue eyes lifted and met his gaze. "You are a handsome young man," he said quietly. "But you are young. Far too young for me." His hands clenched in his lap. "Be glad I do not come to your bed." A shiver ran through the blond’s body as his gaze held the other. "You would not like what would happen if I did."
Naruto stared into those eyes, caught in their darkness, in blackness that was icy cold yet hotter than flame. It was like looking into eternity, he thought, into an endless black void filled with such yearning that he wanted to weep.
Muttering an oath, Sasuke stood up. "Go to bed, Naruto," he said curtly.
Frightened by the seething turmoil in his voice, Naruto scrambled to his feet and hurried from the room. Panic fled through him and he practically flew up the stairs to his bedchamber. One inside, he turned the key in the lock, then collapsed on the bed, feeling as though he had just escaped, though from what, he couldn't say.