Title: Resurgence
Pairing: NaruNeji
Rated: NC-17
Comments: Takes place two years after Simulacra.
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Part I
Naruto clasped his hands behind him and stared thoughtfully at the point where the span of pointed treetops gave way to a tawny sky dominated by the hues of sunset. It was almost comforting how much Wave Country resembled Fire from an aerial view. A particularly persistent wind swept by and he felt the uppermost boughs of the tree beneath him sway sharply. He relaxed his spine and, chakra-infused feet still clinging to the crest of the tree, allowed himself to sway along with it.
There was movement to his left, but he didn’t shift to acknowledge the new presence. His gaze was distant; his thoughts further away even than that point on the horizon where the sun had disappeared.
“Nice view,” Neji murmured from his perch atop the next tree over.
Naruto smiled faintly and nodded.
“Naruto.”
The blond turned, eyes focusing on Neji’s tall figure beside him.
“I caught some fish,” Neji said, nudging his head in the direction of their camp.
Naruto smiled gratefully-and a little guiltily at not having helped to catch dinner. He fixed his gaze to the back of Neji’s head all the way back to camp, ignoring the shadows that sprang up around them. He searched the night instead with his chakra, extending slowly outward in a broad diameter and finding nothing more than the occasional nocturnal creature. He knew Neji could do a more thorough search of the area to confirm the security of their position, but a second pair of eyes was always preferred.
It was well after they’d finished eating and Neji was preparing to take the first watch when he said, “You weren’t scouting up there.”
Naruto’s gaze grew distant again, his lips twisting into not quite a smile. “No, I wasn’t. I’m sorry.”
Neji watched him silently for a long moment before rising to his feet and crossing the short distance to Naruto’s side. He kneeled beside the blond, cupped lean whiskered cheeks and pressed their mouths together.
Naruto responded instantly, lips parting, tongue sliding forward into Neji’s welcoming mouth. His hands covered Neji’s and guided them down over his chest so that his nipples hardened against the slight pressure of Neji’s palms through the thin fabric of his shirt. His own hands fell to Neji’s lap, fingers playing with the loose cloth covering thighs that he knew to be pale and well-shaped, roped thick with hard-earned muscles. He kneaded gently at the firm skin, smiling against Neji’s mouth when the man’s hips rose a fraction, asking for more.
Both men remained conscious of the fact that they were deep in Wave Country with potential enemies lurking just beyond the next stretch of trees. They controlled the level of their breathing even as their pulses raced, and their ears remained sharp even as their other senses devoured the taste and feel of each other.
It was not common for them to let their private emotions interfere with their work. In fact, this was the first time they’d touched while on a mission. They only allowed it now because Naruto’s indomitable will seemed somehow broken here in this land where mist clung to the trees at dawn, and curled and broke around their feet until the sun rose high enough to burn away the chill. His eyes remained almost constantly remote and clouded with memories of the time when his team had become his family, before curses and vengeance had torn through the fragile bonds of their team, through the muscle and bone of his chest.
Understanding this, Neji brought the blond back to him the only way he knew how. Knowing this, Naruto welcomed the reminder that flesh could yield more than pain-pleasure so acute it could elicit reactions that parodied pain, but certainly a preferable substitute. He clung to Neji, wrapping that long hair in his fist, enjoying the bite of the strands as they twined around his palm.
He squeezed his eyes shut, forcing away the images that had played through his mind since the moment they’d stepped into Wave Country-images of the boy he’d once called his rival as they had raced to defeat the other in the vertical challenge of tree-climbing…of Sasuke rocking back on his feet until his strength gave out and he’d collapsed in Naruto’s arms, Haku’s needles buried in his skin…of that one shining moment when, in Naruto’s mind, it had become clear just exactly what it meant to be comrades, what it meant to be a ninja, what it meant to him to lead his own way on that path to becoming Hokage.
“Naruto.”
His eyes opened. Neji’s lips brushed across his cheekbone, hands rising from his chest to lightly brace his neck.
“Watch me,” he said, voice so soft it was only a low rumble, soothing in the silence. “Don’t look away. Stay with me.”
Naruto kissed him quickly so he wouldn’t see the shade of guilt in his face although Neji was obviously already aware that Naruto’s thoughts were meandering. He pulled away, tongue running wetly along the curve of Neji’s bottom lip.
Neji smiled briefly before dipping his head to kiss Naruto’s jaw. He moved lower, scooting back on his knees, his palm pushing gently at Naruto’s shoulder for the blond to lean back. Naruto watched him-watched the way the light from the fire painted golden highlights in Neji’s dark hair, the way those heavy locks fell forward, blocking his face in shadow as he bent between Naruto’s spread legs, hands pulling purposefully at the waistband of his pants.
Naruto lifted his hips for Neji to slip his pants down just enough to free the erection that, despite his wayward thoughts, had little trouble responding to Neji’s touch. Calloused fingers trailed lightly over the firm plain of Naruto’s belly and the short, course blond hair between his legs before settling around the base of his penis. Neji glanced up, catching Naruto’s eye. His lips quirked at the intense look on the blond’s face.
He held Naruto’s gaze as he lowered his head, tongue flicking out to wet the head. Naruto caught his bottom lip between his teeth and watched, breath held, as Neji’s lips wrapped around the tip, sucking lightly. Naruto released his breath on a sigh before inhaling sharply again.
Neji’s hand stroked lightly at the base as his other hand lowered to cup the heavy sac. His lips squeezed as his mouth descended the length of Naruto’s cock, eyes still caught in Naruto’s gaze. He took the blond’s erection in until the tip hit the back of his throat and then he took more in, his gag reflex only minimally distracting. Rough hands dug into his hair as the blond groaned-not quite as loudly as he would have had they been alone and safe in Neji’s apartment, but it was still loud enough to make Neji wince.
Naruto sifted the dark hair through his fingers, loving the smooth texture. How Neji could stand to fight with hair flying in his face was beyond him, but he was glad Neji kept it long. He liked it that way. He fisted a thick lock in his hair and thrust lightly upward into Neji’s mouth.
Neji slackened his jaw, encouraging the movement. Unable to help himself, Naruto closed his eyes and threw his head back as he thrust between Neji’s lips, letting out another groan when he felt Neji swallow and his cock slid into Neji’s throat.
“Neji,” he panted, thrusting almost frantically into that constrictive heat. He lifted his head and looked down at the Hyuuga, the sight of the full length of his cock disappearing down Neji’s throat and the intense pleasure finally wrenching his orgasm from his balls. He came with a muffled groan, fingers tightening in Neji’s hair.
Neji pulled back, swallowing thickly, before letting Naruto’s cock slip from his bruised lips. The blond collapsed onto his back and gave him a crooked smile before moving to pull his pants back into place. Neji crawled over him and rested his mouth lightly over Naruto’s.
“Mmm.” Naruto reached up and held him in place a moment longer, tasting himself in Neji’s mouth, marveling at how lucky he was to have the man above him. “I’m sorry,” he whispered against Neji’s lips.
Neji shook his head. “It’s okay.” He took Naruto’s hand in his and placed it over the bulge in his pants. “You can make it up to me.”
Naruto grinned.
***
The muffled fall of footsteps brought him to awareness. Naruto opened his eyes to see Neji kneeling beside him. The moon was still high, pulsing faintly behind the boughs overhead. He pushed himself up from the single blanket he’d been sleeping on and rubbed his eyes, stretching his arms to wake himself up more fully. He moved aside so Neji could lie down.
“I’m not certain if it’s anything, but I’ve been feeling uneasy for a while now,” Neji said as he spread out over the thin blanket. He closed his eyes. “Stay close.”
Naruto nodded even though Neji couldn’t see. He picked his way easily through the darkness until he reached a thick bush nestled against a tree. He quickly emptied his bladder before moving a few meters closer to the camp and finding a reasonably comfortable branch to sit on and keep watch.
He closed his eyes and swept the surrounding area with his chakra, trusting that the minor traps Neji had set earlier were still in place.
In another day, they would reach The Bridge. Naruto let his head fall back to rest against the rough bark. They had completed their mission days ago and he had insisted on visiting Inari’s family, despite the possible threat of enemy ninjas still being in the area. It was his own doing that had led them this way, but he was regretting his impulsive decision.
He couldn’t deny though that he was looking forward to seeing Inari again. That, alone, was worth the trip, he supposed. To see what kind of man Inari had grown to be and to see how the town was fairing. Besides, he thought, he owed it to Neji to not let loaded memories of Sasuke and needles and falling and rage cloud his mind. He willed away those damn memories and concentrated on feeling the low, nearly undetectable rise and fall of Neji’s chakra as he slept. The Hyuuga was very good at controlling his chakra, even while unconscious.
It was a good hour and plenty of useless thoughts later when he heard a twig snap near his perch. He hadn’t sensed any foreign chakra, but he pressed slowly back against the tree, turning his head for a view of the ground behind him without giving away his position. If someone was there, it would be a ninja of equal status. Only elite ninjas like Neji and himself could mask their chakra so completely.
He could make out the curve of a dark head and the tip of a pale nose. He let out a sigh. Smiling, he jumped, landing in front of Neji just as the Hyuuga turned to greet him.
“What are you doing up? Need to piss?” Naruto asked.
Red eyes gazed out at him from a pale face. Naruto went rigid.
The Sharingan faded so that Naruto was now looking at a pair of eyes indistinguishable from the shadows around them, the only evidence remaining of his presence the almost eerie pallor of his face.
They stood there in the resounding silence and Naruto felt the crushing wave of their past wash over him. Suddenly they were both twelve again, on the brink of becoming men, eager to prove their worth to the village and to each other.
“Naruto.”
The illusion shattered. His voice had changed. It was deeper, a dim shadow of the voice that Naruto had imprinted in his mind. He felt betrayed all over again. And it was so incredibly stupid-something Sasuke would have expected from him when they were genin-to have held the image of the boy in his heart when Naruto himself had continued on.
“Sasuke,” he said quietly.
He hadn’t spoken the name out loud for years. Even Sakura had stopped reminiscing about ‘those days’ when, several years earlier, they had finally infiltrated the Sound village only to find it completely empty and filled to the brim with traps that had been designed to target specific Konoha ninjas. Kakashi had barely made it out alive. They had reasoned that only someone who had worked personally with the copy ninja could have known the man’s weaknesses. Naruto had refused to believe it.
“What are you doing here?” Naruto couldn’t think of anything else to say. ‘Did you set those traps for us and try to kill Kakashi those years ago?’ didn’t seem like the best way to start a conversation with someone he hadn’t spoken to in years but had thought about every day.
Sasuke turned his head and glanced up at the moon and Naruto could have believed that that was longing in his face until his lips tightened and he said, “Exploring the terrain.”
Naruto could see now that the angle of Sasuke’s jaw had grown sharper. His entire face had matured. He felt something tighten in his chest. “You know this area already. We’ve traveled through here before.”
“You’ve changed.”
The comment caught him off guard. Naruto floundered for a moment before saying lamely, “So have you.”
“No,” Sasuke said, taking a step forward so that if he reached out, he could touch Naruto. “You’ve changed.”
He smiled then and Naruto could feel the fine hairs on the back of his neck rise as a thin current of Sasuke’s chakra ran through him. It wasn’t a smile he remembered from their childhood.