Lessons and confessions
Sasuke caught Naruto before he toppled from the bench. Lifting the blond easily in his arms, he looked down at him, his gaze instinctively drawn to the pulse beating in his throat. Perhaps he should not have told him. If he wished, he could wipe it all from his mind, make Naruto forget everything he had said.
And yet, it had felt good, cleansing somehow, to tell Naruto the truth. He had wanted the blond to know, had wanted no lies between them in the time they had left. And when their year together was up, he would leave this place, and it wouldn't matter if he told anyone or not. No one would believe.
In spite of all the stories and rumours that circulated among the villagers, none of them truly believed him to be a monster.
Naruto had never believed it, either, but he knew the truth now.
Tomorrow he would find out if Naruto was strong enough to accept it, to live with it. And with him. And if he wasn't...
He shook the thought away as if it were no more than a troublesome insect. There would be time enough to worry about that tomorrow. Tonight, he would hold Naruto while he slept and pretend, for a little while, that the blond knew what he was, and loved him in spite of it.
Effortlessly, he carried Naruto back to the castle, up the winding staircase to the blond’s chamber. Gently, he lowered Naruto onto the bed, took off his shoes and clothes. Removing his own boots and cloak, he sat down on the bed, his back to the headboard. Aching with need, he drew Naruto into his arms and covered them both with his cloak.
He sat there through the night, watching the blond sleep, listening to the soft, even sound of his breathing. Tenderness engulfed him as Naruto snuggled against him, his arms wrapping around his waist.
Do you know? he wondered. Do you know it’s me?
He lifted a hand, his knuckles lightly stroking the tanned warm cheek, marvelling at the smoothness of the skin, so warm compared to the coolness of his own. With his forefinger, he traced the line of his mouth—soft and sweet. Pink plump lips parted slightly, and Naruto made a low, sleepy sound in his throat.
"Naruto." Desire surged through him, painful in its intensity. "Open to me, my sweet," he whispered.
"Sasuke…" Eyelids fluttered open. He had been dreaming of the dark lord, and now he was there, gazing down at him through black eyes that blazed with a deep inner fire.
"Kiss me." He lowered his head. "Kiss me…”
Naruto tilted his head back, uttered a soft moan as Sasuke’s claimed his lips in a searing kiss that drove all rational thought from his mind even as it made his toes curl with pleasure.
Sasuke shifted his position so that they were lying face to face, their bodies pressed together from shoulder to thigh. Desire unfurled within Naruto’s core at the touch of Sasuke’s hard lean body moulded so intimately against his own.
Sasuke’s tongue traced Naruto’s lips. He heard the rapid beat of the blond’s heart, felt his hunger roar to life, felt his fangs ache with the need to drink and drink and drink, to fill himself with Naruto’s sweetness, his very essence.
Naruto groaned softly. Instinctively, he pressed himself against Sasuke’s body, wanting to be closer.
His hands slid under Sasuke’s shirt, caressing the smooth line of his back. Naruto felt as if he were on fire. The dark lord’s skin was cool beneath his fingertips, yet he knew Sasuke was as aroused as he. His breathing was harsh and erratic, pale skinned hands restless as they traced up and down his sides, fingers brushing against the lines of his chest.
Naruto felt Sasuke’s teeth graze his throat, and he pushed back his hair away from his neck, wanting to feel Sasuke’s tongue against his skin.
Sasuke’s hand cupped his buttocks, drawing him close against his body, letting the blond feel the visible evidence of his desire. The fact that Naruto’s kisses, his body pressed against him, had the power to arouse the dark lord excited him. Never before had Naruto felt passion like this, known such longing, such need.
He whispered Sasuke’s name, wanting the dark lord to touch him everywhere at once. He tugged at his clothing, wanting to feel his bare skin against his own.
"Naruto." Sasuke’s voice sounded heavy, drugged. "We've got to stop."
"No." Naruto clung to him, his fingers kneading Sasuke’s back and shoulders, his hips moving against the other, urging the dark haired man to ease the ache spreading through him. "Kiss me," Naruto whispered. "Touch me."
"Naruto..." The image of the last girl he had taken to bed all those hundreds of years ago, rose within him. They had to wait, wait until the hunger was sated and under control.
But Naruto didn't want to wait. His agile fingers tossed his cloak and shirt aside until nothing separated them but the thin material of the sheets.
He could feel the warm sweet heat of the blond against his chest. A low growl rose in his throat as a heated tanned hand boldly caressed and squeezed his thigh.
“Sasuke, please…” Naruto moved restlessly on the bed, driven by an urgency he didn't understand, couldn't resist.
Sasuke felt the need as if it was his own. His body was on fire for the blond. He felt the sharpness of his fangs against his tongue, felt the hunger rise up within him as he stripped the bedding off and tossed his trousers aside.
Naruto was beautiful, his body smooth and unblemished, a seducer with slender legs and softly rounded hips, a siren with smooth hardened lines of muscle that had been fashioned for his hands and him alone.
Trembling with need, he lowered himself over the blond, his weight braced on his elbows as he buried his face in the hollow of the young man’s shoulder. "Naruto, are you sure?"
He felt Naruto nod as he wrapped his arms around him and held him close.
Hunger and desire pounded through him, and with them the knowledge that the waiting of four hundred years was about to come to an end. And then, like a warning blast of hot air, he felt the sun creeping over the edge of the horizon.
With a low cry, he reared back, his gaze moving to the window. Through a narrow gap in the heavy curtains, he could see the faint light of the sun, feel the coming warmth of a new day.
"What is it?" Naruto asked. "What's wrong?"
"I must go."
"Go?" Blue eyes looked up at him, eyes filled with confusion. "Where? Why?"
"It's dawn." With fluid grace, Sasuke vacated the bed. Grabbing his cloak, he draped it over his shoulders. "Till tonight, sweet Naruto," he said, his voice hoarse with unfulfilled desire.
"Sasuke, wait…”
But he was already gone.
=================================================================
That afternoon, Naruto sat on his bed, absentmindedly picking at the cuffs of his shirt. Sasuke was a vampire. He told himself he should be grateful that the dawn had sent Sasuke from his bed before he'd claimed his innocence.
Vampire. Last night, drugged by Sasuke’s kisses, at the mercy of the passion that had flowed through him like warm honey, he had been incapable of rational thought. Naruto had known nothing but need, hot urgent need that had left him blind and deaf to everything else.
Now, in the cold light of day, he wondered how he could have forgotten it for even a moment.
Vampire... images of emaciated monsters with yellow fangs dripping blood rose in his mind.
Vampire... hideous, unnatural creatures who stalked the night in search of prey, drinking the blood of innocents.
Vampire... ghouls who slept in coffins by day because they could not abide the pure light of the sun.
Vampire... how could it be true? If Sasuke was truly a vampire, why wasn't he repulsed by him?
Why was he still alive? Would he become what Sasuke was? Rising to his feet, he went to the windows and threw the curtains open wide. The sun felt warm on his face.
He had never seen Sasuke during the day.
Never seen him eat.
He pressed his forehead against the cool glass.
Was Sasuke sleeping in his coffin even now?
The thought made him shudder.
The east tower. That was where Sasuke slept. That was why he had forbidden him to go there. Naruto frowned. He had found nothing when he went there, only an empty room.
He was across the room, his hand on the latch, before he realised what he was doing. He paused in the hallway, listening, wondering what Iruka was doing.
Pulling his shirt down and securing his trousers, he ran down the corridor to the staircase that led up to the east tower. His heart was beating loudly in his ears when he reached the tower room. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped inside.
As before, there was nothing to see— no furniture, no pictures, only a single window covered by thick, black velvet draperies.
He opened the curtains, then stood in the centre of the room, slowly turning around. At first he saw nothing, and then Naruto discerned a faint break in the pattern of the stone wall across from the window.
Heart pounding, palms damp, mouth dry, he pressed his hand to the wall, gradually moving his hand over the surface. He gasped as he felt the wall move, and then a portion of the wall slid open, revealing another room beyond.
Poised to flee, he stood in the doorway and peered inside. There were no windows in this chamber. Sunshine from the room behind him spilled through the open doorway. Though the light was faint, Naruto could make out the shape of a large cherry wood armoire on the wall across from him. A wolf's head was carved into one door, a raven on the other.
A large fireplace took up the far corner of the room.
He took another step forward and glanced to the right. A huge tapestry covered the wall. Woven in shades of forest green and brown, it depicted several scenes. In one, a raven was perched on a tree branch. Below, a black wolf with blood red eyes sat on its haunches, howling at the moon.
Another scene portrayed several men armed with spears in pursuit of a wolf. A third scene illustrated a wolf standing on its hind legs, its teeth bared in a vicious snarl.
Drawing his blue eyed gaze from the tapestry, he turned his head to the left, felt his heart jump into his throat. A huge bed covered with a black canopy was situated on a raised dais. And lying on the bed, his arms folded across his chest, was Sasuke.
Naruto could only stare as images imprinted themselves on his mind. The sheets and pillow slip were black. A comforter, also black, was folded across the foot of the bed. His cloak covered him, enfolding him like loving arms.
His face, framed by his black hair, looked very pale. He did not seem to be breathing. Alarm skittered through him. Had Sasuke died during the day? The urge to go to him, to make sure he was still alive, rose strong within him, and with it, snatches of folklore he'd heard about ways to destroy a vampire.
Cut off its head. Stuff its mouth with garlic.
Drive a stake through its heart and into the ground beneath so that it couldn't rise again.
Last night, Sasuke had told him what he was, and he had thought he believed him. But hearing the dark lord’s words had not prepared him for this.
The villagers had been right all along, he mused. There was a vampire in their midst, and he knew where he slept.
"Oh, Sasuke," he whispered. "Oh, Sasuke, what am I to do?"
"Naru... to."
His voice, though barely audible, sounded in Naruto’s ears like thunder. Sasuke was awake. Awake and watching him through heavy lidded eyes as dark and deep as pools of liquid ebony.
Naruto stood in the doorway, mesmerised by his gaze, unable to move.
"Have you come to destroy me?" There was a note of bitter resignation in Sasuke’s voice, but it was the forgiveness in his eyes that tugged at Naruto’s heart.
"No." Naruto shook his head, pity welling up within him. "No."
"Come to me." Sasuke’s voice was soft, so soft, filled with longing.
He couldn't. Wouldn't. But his feet were moving of their own accord, carrying him across the floor, up the two stairs of the dais, until he stood beside the bed.
"Naruto... please don't..." His voice was low, as if speaking were an effort. His eyelids fluttered down then opened again. “Don’t hate me.”
”I don’t.” Naruto lifted one hand. Wanting to touch him, yet afraid. "Are you in pain?" he asked. "Can I get you anything?
The ghost of a smile played over Sasuke’s dry lips. "The sun... daylight... I cannot abide it."
"It's true," Naruto murmured in wonder. "Everything you told me. All true."
Sasuke nodded once, briefly. "Lie with me?" His arm slowly stretched out, beckoning the blond closer.
Naruto glanced at the bed. It wasn't a coffin, after all, just a large bed carved of wood. Vampire... Would Sasuke wrap him in his evil embrace and drain him dry?
It was a foolish thought, and Naruto shook it away.
If Sasuke had wanted to kill him, he'd had plenty of opportunity before now.
With a sigh, Naruto sat down on the mattress, then stretched out beside the dark lord, his head pillowed on his shoulder.
Sasuke smiled at him, his arm drawing the blond close to his side. There was a soft whoosh as the panel slid shut, and then his eyelids fluttered down and he was asleep once more.
And Naruto was in the monster's lair.
Naruto gave a little start as he felt Sasuke’s cloak slide out from beneath him, felt the smooth silk lining slither up over his bare arms, until it covered them both.
Hidden panels that shut of their own volition and a black velvet cloak that seemed almost alive. It was beyond Naruto’s comprehension, beyond the realms of reality.
Suddenly weary, Naruto closed his eyes. And slept.
Sasuke was aware of Naruto there beside him all through the day. Blond hair brushed his cheek like a skein of golden silk. A long arm rested across his chest the warmth of the blond’s flesh penetrating the cold that enveloped him in his deathlike sleep.
The clean fresh scent of Naruto’s skin wrapped around him, the slow steady beat of his heart was as comforting as a lullaby. A heated thigh pressed intimately against his, bequeathing erotic dreams to one who never dreamed.
He woke as the setting sun turned the sky to flame, and Naruto’s face was the first thing he saw.
Emotions rose within him, hot and swift and unfamiliar. For over four hundred years, he had awakened to the darkness of a lonely room, and now an angel lay sleeping beside him, blond hair spread like sunshine across the pillow, light coloured lashes like dark fans against his cheek.
And he knew at that moment that he had never loved Naruto more.
Naruto stirred in his arms, his eyelids fluttering open, an uncertain smile on his lips.
"You look surprised," Sasuke murmured. "Did you think I would drink you dry while you slept?" Naruto shook his head, but even in the dark, he could see the telltale flush that climbed into his cheeks.
"Naruto, you have no idea what it means to me, to wake up and find you here beside me.”
“I'm glad it pleases you, my lord."
It does," Sasuke said softly. "Very much."
“Is there... is there a candle in here?" Naruto glanced around, unnerved by the unrelieved darkness. There were no windows in the room, no hint of light. "It's so dark."
He felt Sasuke turn away from him; a moment later, there was a soft whoosh as a fire sprang to life in the hearth. Soft golden light filled the room, creating dancing shadows on the walls and ceiling.
Naruto stared at the flames as if they had risen from Satan's own pit. "How... how did you do that?"
"A bit of vampire magic," Sasuke replied. Iruka insisted on keeping a supply of wood in the fireplace, though Sasuke had often told him it was unnecessary. For once, he was glad the man hadn't listened to him.
"Oh." Naruto stared into the fireplace for a moment, then frowned. "I had expected... That is... Aren't... aren't vampires supposed to sleep in coffins?"
"Some do."
“But you don’t?”
"I find them narrow and confining." He could survive the day outside a coffin, but a thick lay of his native soil was spread beneath the mattress. A muscle worked in his jaw as he sat up. The cloak fell away, pooling in his lap. "Have you any other questions about my... affliction?"
Naruto sat up, his shoulder brushing against the other. "Are there truly ways to... to kill a vampire?"
"Plotting my destruction, are you?"
"Of course not." Naruto snorted out a nervous laugh.
"A hawthorne stake through the heart is said to be effective. I believe a stake made of ash or blackthorn will also suffice. Fire will certainly destroy me. Another sure method of destroying a vampire is to cut off his head."
Naruto swallowed the bile rising in his throat, sickened by the images Sasuke’s words conjured in his mind. "And what of holy water?"
"Holy water has a rather unpleasant effect, though I doubt it would be fatal unless I fell into a pool of it."
Naruto frowned, searching his mind for other snippets of vampire lore he had heard through the years. "And garlic?"
Sasuke grinned. "The smell is most unpleasant, but will not deter me."
"And crosses?"
"A silver one would burn me should I touch it."
"And those made of wood?"
"They will not save you."
Sasuke’s words chilled him, but there was no menace in his voice, only mild amusement.
Naruto frowned thoughtfully. "Why are you telling me how to destroy you?"
"Because someday you may need to know."
Naruto didn't want to dwell on what that might mean. Casting about for some other topic of conversation, his gaze settled on Sasuke’s cloak. It spread over the bed like a shimmering pool of ebony. He stared at it warily for a moment, remembering how it had covered him the night before.
He poked at it tentatively, as if afraid it might attack him. As always, the rich velvet was warm to the touch, seeming to pulse with a life of its own.
“It won’t bite you,” Sasuke remarked, one brow arched in wry amusement.
"Are you sure? It is the strangest garment I have ever seen. This afternoon..." Naruto broke off with a shrug. "Never mind."
"What?" he urged. "Tell me."
"I know it's impossible!" Naruto exclaimed. "But I'd swear it moved. Oh, I know I must have been imagining it, but it seemed to cover me of its own volition."
Naruto shook his head, blue eyes wide with awe and disbelief. "And the panel in the wall, it closed all by itself."
He looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to explain that which was unexplainable. "How is it possible? Am I going mad?"
Sasuke caressed Naruto’s soft cheek with the back of his hand. "You're quite sane, my sweet. I caused the panel in the wall to close, just as I caused it to open when I sensed you were on the other side."
"You did? But, how?"
"Like this," he said, and a moment later, the portal door slid open and then closed again, leaving no trace of its existence.
Naruto blinked up at him, astonishment evident in his eyes. "Would you mind leaving it open?"
"As you wish," he said agreeably, and the narrow door opened once again. "Is that better?"
"Yes, thank you." He glanced at Sasuke, at the door, and back at him again. "Did you manipulate the cloak, as well?"
"No."
"No?" He cast a wary glance at the puddle of black velvet in his lap.
With a sigh, Sasuke stroked the smooth velvet. "I don't know how to explain my cloak. Indeed, I don't know if it can be explained. I fashioned it myself, though I cannot recall how it was done, nor where the material came from. The night after I was made a vampire, my hands created it with a knowledge of their own. My blood, the very essence of my life, is woven into the fabric. And because the blood of my mother is in me, a part of her dwells within the cloak."
"And it's that part of her that soothes you, isn't it?" Naruto smiled, as if he had just solved a mystery. "I've seen the way the cloak enfolds you when you're unhappy, or weary, as if to comfort you."
Sasuke nodded, surprised by the blond’s perception, and by his ready acceptance of what was, for the most part, completely incomprehensible.
"You have a beautiful soul, Naruto Uzumaki," he said quietly. "Do you think me cruel to keep you here against your will? To make you live with a monster when you deserve so much more?"
A man like Hyuuga, he thought, sick with jealousy. That was what the blond deserved. A lover who could give him a family, who could offer him a home filled with sunlight and laughter.
"Is that how you see yourself, my lord? As a monster?"
"Don't you?"
"No."
"What do you see, sweet Naruto?"
"I'm not sure. But you're far too kind to be a monster."
"Kind?" He made a low sound of derision in his throat. "No one has ever accused me of that before."
"You have been kind to me, kind to my family. And now you've shown kindness to the town as well."
"That was your idea, not mine."
"You could have said no."
"Not to you." He cupped Naruto’s cheek in his palm, the heat of his skin warming him. "Naruto, I wish..." He drew his hand from Naruto’s face and stood up, turning away so that his back was to the blond.
"What do you wish?"
"Nothing. Wishes are for fools," Sasuke whispered, refusing to look back.
Rising, Naruto went to stand behind him. Sasuke was so tall, so strong, and yet so vulnerable. Fearing he would be rebuffed, he slid his arms around Sasuke’s waist and pressed his cheek to a strong back.
"Won't you tell me what you wish?"
Sasuke folded his arms over Naruto’s hands and bowed his head. "I wish I could be mortal for you, Naruto, that I could love you, that I could make love to you, as a mortal man. I wish I could stand beside you on a warm summer morning and watch the sunrise, that I could share your days as well as your nights. I would cherish you with each breath, shower you with the riches of the world. I wish I could give you children and watch them grow, that I could work beside you, and grow old at your side."
Sasuke took a deep breath, willing away the images his words had created in his mind. "I can do none of those things." He turned around to face Naruto. "If I weren't a monster, my sweet, I would release you from your promise. I would send you away from here and bid you well. But I have ever been a selfish knave and find that I cannot let you go. Not now. Not after the joy of having you rest beside me." His dark eyes burned to seek blue eyes. "Perhaps not ever."
Naruto looked up at him, his expression serene. "Have I asked to be released from my promise?"
“You should.”
"Why? You just said you would not let me go."
Sasuke traced the curve of Naruto’s cheek with his forefinger. "True enough," he agreed, "and yet, I doubt I could deny you anything. Even your freedom, should you ask it of me."
"I promised you a year, my lord, and unless you send me away, I intend to honour that promise."
"Naruto..." He had no words to express his feelings, no words to tell Naruto how precious he was to him at that moment as soft blue eyes looked up at him, those eyes were filled with acceptance, and trust.
"What a rare creature you are," he murmured.
"You look extremely pale, my lord," Naruto mused. "Shall I call Iruka?"
"No." He turned away from him again lest Naruto see the hunger burning in his eyes. "Why don't you go freshen up for supper? I shall join you later.”
"Will you not kiss me before I go?"
"Not now." His voice was harsh.
"Very well, my lord."
The hurt in Naruto’s voice was like a slap. "Naruto, wait." He took a deep breath; then, when he was certain the hunger was under control, he took Naruto in his arms and kissed him. "I'll see you as soon as I can."
.
.
.
Naruto noticed the change in him when he entered the library two hours later. His face seemed less pale, his eyes less bright, his attitude more relaxed.
Sasuke hesitated in the doorway, aware of the blond’s scrutiny. "Shall I leave?"
"No." Why had he never noticed there were times when Sasuke looked pale, and times when his colour was more—he swallowed—normal? He tried to analyse his feelings now that he knew what Sasuke was, what he did to survive. He half expected to feel revulsion; instead, he felt only compassion.
Sasuke crossed the room and took a seat across from him. He wore a simple light grey tunic, a leather belt fastened as his waist. Blond hair fell over his ears and touched the small of the blond’s neck, like a waterfall of spun gold.
And his eyes... Sasuke gazed into Naruto’s deep blue eyes and saw the daylight sky he had not seen in over four hundred years. He longed to touch him, but made no move toward him for fear of frightening him. Naruto would need time to adjust, to accept.
"How do you bear it?" Naruto asked after a lengthy silence. "How can you drink... I don't understand how you can do it, drink the... the blood of animals.”
They had discussed this before, but Sasuke understood Naruto’s need to try to understand. "It is necessary for my survival," he replied patiently.
"Do you need to... to drink it every night?"
"No."
"How long can you go without it?"
"Comfortably for a week or so. Any longer than that becomes... stressful."
"You fed well tonight, didn't you? Your skin looks almost…”
"Human?"
Naruto nodded, thinking what a strange conversation this was. He knew what Sasuke was, knew it was true, and yet a distant part of his mind still refused to accept it. "You told me that you usually drink the blood of animals. Were you lying to me?"
"No." Sasuke hesitated, wondering how much to tell the other, how much more he could accept. "I can survive on the blood of animals, as you could survive on locusts and ants, if necessary. But would you want to? It isn't natural for you to eat such things, any more than it is natural for me to drink the blood of animals. I need human blood."
I need your blood. He did not say the words, but Naruto heard them in his mind, and in his heart.
Naruto stared at him. "All those other women and men," he said slowly. "The ones who were here before me. You didn't defile them, the way the townspeople think, did you? You drank from them."
Sasuke nodded, his expression impassive. He saw the revulsion in those blue eyes, felt as though a vast gulf were opening between them, an abyss he would never be able to cross.
"And that was why you bought me, wasn't it? To... to feed on."
"The blood of beasts will satisfy the hunger," Sasuke said, his voice carefully neutral, "but it gives me no pleasure, nor will it sustain me indefinitely. From time to time, I need human blood. Sometimes I crave it. To go without it for long periods of time weakens me." He took a deep breath and let it out in a long, weary sigh. "You cannot imagine the pain that comes with abstinence."
He glanced at the pulse throbbing in Naruto’s throat. The blood of beasts was vile, but Naruto's blood was like the finest wine, the sweetest nectar.
"What happened to the other women and men who stayed here before me?"
"I sent them away."
Naruto swallowed hard. "Alive?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't want to believe that you killed them. If you tell me you didn't, I'll accept your word."
"I did them no harm. But I have killed in the past, Naruto. And will do so again, if necessary. Don't try to imagine that I'm noble. Or kind. I am a vampire, and we are, by our very nature, killers. We trust no one, especially others of our kind, and guard our territory fiercely."
He heard Sasuke’s emphasis on the word "we," but couldn't deal with the idea that there might be others like him living nearby. Not now, not when he was trying so hard to understand what made Sasuke as he was.
"Are you still trying to scare me away, my lord?" Naruto asked, forcing a smile.
Sasuke shook his head. "I just want you to be aware of what you're dealing with."
Sasuke then stood up. "Think about what I've said, Naruto. If you're still here tomorrow night, I'll know you've decided to stay until the year is up. If you leave, I will provide for you and your family as long as you live."
Naruto wanted to tell Sasuke that he still loved him, that nothing Sasuke could say or do would change his mind, but he couldn't form the words.
"Good night, sweet Naruto." Sasuke’s voice moved over him like a cold winter wind, and then he was gone as if he had never been there at all.