drifting like two ships
Summary
There were two facts of life that Naruto Uzumaki knew to be indisputably true in the pirate world.
1. The pirate world was ruthless and cutthroat, every person for themselves. It had been this way for as long as it had existed. Even if Naruto and his crew personally didn’t agree nor willingly go along with it.
2. Naruto Uzumaki’s greatest enemy was Sasuke Uchiha. And if Sasuke’s behaviour was anything to go by, the feeling was mutual.
It was dark. Naruto didn’t know where he was. But that didn’t matter, because he could feel his eyes closing again. He barely just heard a familiar voice say his name.
But sleep beckoned.
He awoke three more times, in much of the same way—only awake long enough to hear his name before sleep pulled him back under.
However, the fourth time, he was slightly more coherent. He could feel someone’s hand against his forehead. When he opened his eyes, he had to blink a few times. It was no longer so dark. And the hand touching his forehead was cool. When his brain finally started to process what was going on, he discovered it was Sasuke’s hand touching his forehead. Said man was at his side, frowning.
“Sasuke?” Naruto said, voice rusty from lack of use. He felt like crap, like he’d been knocked over the head with a cannonball.
By the startled way Sasuke pulled his hand back, he clearly wasn’t aware Naruto had awoken.
“Drink,” Sasuke said, offering Naruto a bottle of water.
Naruto, for once, followed Sasuke’s instructions. He took a drink and then another—water had never tasted so good.
Once he’d had his fill, he put down the bottle and took in his surroundings. He was in a spacious bed in a room that wasn’t rocking with the waves?
Wait.
Was he even on a ship?
He threw the blanket off of himself and ran to the curtained window, nearly falling as he did. As he drew open the window he saw a cobbled street, with strangers walking along it. There was no water in sight.
“Ah, shit,” Naruto said. He was meant to be getting back to his crew, but instead he had just put even more distance between them.
Or, well. Sasuke had.
Naruto turned to said man.
“What the hell, Sasuke?”
Sasuke’s face betrayed him, as his eye twitched. “What the hell yourself.”
Naruto threw his arms up. “That doesn’t tell me anything!”
Sasuke shrugged and turned his attention to an apple in his hand. “Maybe use your brain then. If you have one.” He took a bite of the apple, like Naruto was the least interesting thing in the world.
Annoyed, Naruto marched over to Sasuke and stole the apple right out of his hand. And, in true accordance with his unpredictable nature, Naruto ate the remainder of the apple in a few big bites, leaving nothing but the core.
Sasuke glared at him. “What is your problem?”
“You! Just tell me where we are!”
“Isle of Hidden Leaves,” Sasuke said. “All you had to do was use your words, idiot.”
Naruto took a deep breath. Okay. Sasuke was being somewhat co-operative at least. “Why are we here?”
Sasuke quirked an eyebrow. “Do you really not remember?”
With a frown, Naruto thought hard on the past few days. “I remember…” His memory was all fragmented and unclear. “… someone calling my name.”
“And before that?”
That was a good question, actually. Naruto remembered being on a small rowboat by himself, trying to reach his crew, the Nine-tailed Fox Pirates, when—that’s right—he stumbled upon a ship getting raided. And.. it was Sasuke’s crew, the Sharingan Pirates, doing the raiding.
“You were raiding a ship.”
And then it clicked into place. Naruto had seen Sasuke fighting, easily overcoming his challengers, but there had been one person playing dead and waiting for the opportunity to stab Sasuke. When that man struck, Naruto had thrown himself in front of Sasuke, shielding him.
It all made sense now. Well, partly. He looked at the shoulder that was struck—it was bandaged but didn’t feel all that terrible.
“How long has it been since I got stabbed?”
“A week.”
Naruto did a double-take. “A whole week? What! What about my crew? What about—”
Sasuke didn’t let him freak out for long. “The tip of the blade was poisoned. You’re lucky to be awake this early. The doctor assumed it would take longer.”
Naruto took a moment to process that. He didn’t even realise a doctor had been to see him, and well, the only person he had been vaguely aware of was Sasuke. Which led him to an odd discovery, that he really should have realised sooner.
“You… you’ve been looking after me?” Naruto said, turning from the busy street back to completely face Sasuke, whose usual stoic expression was perfectly in place.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. “…Why?”
“The poisoned blade was intended for me,” Sasuke said. “Why did you shield me?”
“I don’t know, asshole. My body just moved on instinct!”
Sasuke had an intense look on his face, but then he turned away, like he was disappointed. “Whatever. You’re still alive. We’re even.”
And with that said, Sasuke turned and headed for the door.
“Sasuke—wait!”
Sasuke stopped and looked over his shoulder at Naruto, waiting.
But Naruto didn’t know what to say. Well, he knew what he wanted to say, but in a surprisingly cowardly moment, he settled with, “You’re still an asshole.”
Sasuke almost smiled. “And you’re still a loser,” he said. And then he was gone.
Naruto sat there, numb.
Life after the stabbing incident, as Naruto liked to refer to it, was mostly uneventful. Perhaps eventful to someone who was not used to pirate adventures, but Naruto managed to return to his crew and they continued to sail the seas. They discovered new sights, made new friends (and enemies), and looted treasures from the corrupt government ships (after all, Naruto may have some morals but he was still a pirate).
And throughout it all, Naruto never caught wind of Sasuke’s escapades. Which was somewhat unusual. Sasuke and his crew were infamous on the seas. One usually heard their names mentioned anywhere they went.
Naruto relayed as much to his first mate one afternoon. “Don’t you think it’s strange that we haven’t heard anything about Sasuke and his crew lately?”
Gaara looked at Naruto and took a moment to respond. Gaara often did that; considered what he would say before saying it (which was usually the total opposite to Naruto). “I guess it could be considered strange. Are you worried about Sasuke?” he said.
“No! Of course not,” Naruto said.
“Naruto…”
And Naruto couldn’t lie to Gaara. Especially when the man said his name so wearily. He and Gaara had established one essential rule since they became friends: no bullshit. And Naruto wasn’t one to break a friend rule like that.
“Okay, yeah. I mean, the asshole nursed me back to health, left, and there’s been no word of him since.”
Gaara hummed. “Sasuke can take care of himself, you know.”
“I know!” Naruto insisted. “I’m just being stupid.”
“You’re not being stupid. But have you thought about why you’re so worried?”
“Gaara, the guy saved my life—”
“After you saved his,” Gaara interrupted. “He was repaying a debt.”
Naruto sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I don’t know. We’re enemies but I… I hoped that maybe I got through to him that time. Maybe my actions spoke what I couldn’t say.”
“What did you want to say?”
“That there is good in this world. He doesn’t have to continue to sink in the cycle of hatred that the government created.”
But it wasn’t that simple. Sasuke was well justified in his hatred. The government had made his own brother massacre his entire family, extended and immediate—nobody except Sasuke remained.
But in the same vein, it wasn’t healthy to take out the hatred in his heart on every person he crossed paths with. Naruto knew this well. His parents had been killed just after he was born. They’d been famous on the seas, but Naruto didn’t inherit that legacy. No. He’d been known as the cursed orphan because of his unusual whisker-like face markings and what people believed they meant. Nobody would even go near him.
Up until age thirteen, Naruto had believed the rumours about him—he hadn’t even known who his parents were then. It would have been easy to follow down the path of hatred and revenge, but a mentor, Iruka-sensei, showed him kindness and had helped him narrowly avoid that route. Naruto learned that good people did exist. He learned that he could be the change he wanted to see in the world. And since then, that’s exactly what he’d been doing: finding fellow people deemed outcasts by society who had potential for good, building strong alliances, and exposing corrupt governments.
And Sasuke, well, as much as they got on each other’s nerves, Naruto just felt like he could relate to him on such a personal level that it almost scared him. It was like looking at a version of himself that never discovered the good in the world.
“Sasuke might not be receptive to listening. But if anyone can convince him otherwise, it’s you, Naruto,” Gaara said.
Naruto punched Gaara’s arm lightly. “You people-pleaser, you.”
“Just being honest.”
Naruto grinned. It was the truth. Gaara was just as committed to not breaking their ‘no bullshit’ rule.
After a week, the Nine-tailed Fox Pirates arrived at a rather quaint island. The locals were very kind to them—which was rather unusual, given the crew’s status as pirates.
It wasn’t until they bumped into a familiar face that Naruto noticed things weren’t quite what they seemed.
“Karin?” Naruto said. He would recognise his cousin’s red hair anywhere.
Karin’s face morphed through a few different expressions—confusion, shock, and relief—before her eyebrows drew together in worry.
“Naruto!” Karin said. “Never thought I’d be glad to see you, but I guess the impossible does happen sometimes.”
“Gee, always so full of compliments for me,” Naruto said, prompting Karin to roll her eyes. But her worried expression was quick to return. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Sasuke.”
Naruto’s eyebrows drew together. “What do you mean? What’s wrong with Sasuke?”
“It’s Danzou. He’s got Sasuke.” Shit. That wasn’t good. Danzou was a navy admiral. One of the most corrupt ones. He’d always been after the Uchiha scrolls—they were rumoured to contain knowledge to lengthen one’s life—and had been part of the reason Sasuke’s brother Itachi had been ordered to massacre their family. Naruto didn’t even know if Sasuke had possession of said scrolls, but even if he didn’t, he probably knew how or where to find them, or that would be what Danzou was counting on.
“Where did Danzou take him?”
“South of the island in an underground facility. I can show you.”
Gaara, who had been listening behind Naruto, now stepped beside him. “What’s the Sharingan crew doing? Why haven’t Juugo and Suigetsu gone for him?” Gaara said. The rest of Naruto’s crew that were in attendance—Neji, Sai, and Kurama—stepped up too.
“Ugh! I don’t have time for this. Are you gonna help or not, Naruto?” Karin said. But Gaara put an arm in front of Naruto, blocking him from responding.
“Answer the question, lady,” Kurama said.
Karin gave a dramatic sigh. “Fine. We got separated. I managed to track Sasuke to this island. Juugo and Suigetsu were sent to search the neighbouring villages. They’ll come here soon once they find nothing.”
Naruto frowned. “You mean to say Sasuke was captured elsewhere and Danzou brought him to this island?”
“Yes! Now are you helping or not?”
“Of course,” Naruto said.
“Naruto,” Sai said, “it could be a trap.”
“I don’t think Karin’s lying. I’m going to go with her. Give me a couple of hours, okay?”
Sai nodded, his face void of emotion.
“Be careful, Naruto,” Gaara said. He turned to Karin. “If this is a trap, you will pay.”
Karin scoffed. “Your threats don’t scare me.”
“They should. You don’t want to get on this guy’s wrong side,” Kurama said, patting Gaara’s shoulder in emphasis.
Karin rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Naruto, let’s go.”
Naruto nodded. He quickly shot what he hoped was a reassuring grin back to the crew, and then left with Karin.
It took about forty minutes on foot to arrive on the outskirts of the underground facility. It was well hidden amongst the forest terrain. The entrance was disguised by some strategically placed bushes, which Karin pointed at.
Karin had explained on the way all that she knew.
Karin led them through the bushes that marked the entry, and then past a few more entrances that were hidden by nature until they came to a staircase going down. Naruto took the first few steps down, but didn’t hear Karin’s footsteps follow. He turned to her in question.
“I am sorry, cousin. It was the only way I could get him back. Besides, I figured this would be what you would want too. Since you love him and all,” she said.
Huh? But before Naruto could react, a rope was lassoed around his ankles and he was pulled, landing on his butt. His eyes followed the rope but it only led to darkness.
“You’ve done well, Karin,” came an eerily familiar voice.
And out of the darkness at the bottom of the staircase he came: Danzou. He was old but still stood stronger than expected of someone his age.
“Give Sasuke back now! I’ve given you what you want,” Karin said.
Naruto sighed. Gaara was gonna be pissed. But still, technically Karin hadn’t lied. Danzou had Sasuke. Naruto didn’t regret following, especially if it meant helping a fellow pirate against someone like Danzou. Naruto and Sasuke didn’t often see eye-to-eye on things, but there was definitely one thing they did agree on: the government was corrupt and full of scum.
“Take her,” Danzou said.
“Behind you, Karin!” Naruto said. But it was too late. Danzou had planned this. The person behind Karin, struck her at her neck, instantly making her go limp.
“Danzou, you bastard!” Naruto said, but then he blacked out.
Naruto awoke feeling groggy and weak. It was dark, but there was still enough light for his surroundings to be visible. He was in an unfurnished room with no distinguishing features, except a door with some big high-tech lock on it. Shit.
“Finally awake, huh?” came a voice to his left.
Naruto tensed. But then untensed. He knew that voice.
“Sasuke?” he said, turning to look left. And there he was. Sasuke Uchiha. Sitting a few metres away from him, his back against the wall. “Are you okay?”
Sasuke snorted. “Idiot. You should be asking yourself that first.”
“I’m fine, but where is Danzou? We need to get out of here. They got Karin too.”
Sasuke gave a short hum in acknowledgement. “Karma. She shouldn’t have tricked you and then offered you to Danzou,” he said.
Naruto jumped to his feet and stomped over to the other man, fighting against the woozy feeling of moving too quickly after being knocked out. “She did it to save you! And I would’ve come regardless!” Naruto said.
Never one to back down, Sasuke stood up. “Well I didn’t ask her or you to make such stupid choices!”
Angry, Naruto leaned into Sasuke. “So now people are stupid for caring about you?” Naruto said, his voice getting louder. He could feel his heartbeat accelerating.
Sasuke pushed Naruto back. “Obviously!”
Quickly recovering, Naruto pulled Sasuke in by the neck of his t-shirt. “Asshole! Just let us help! Let me help!”
Sasuke let himself be pulled this time. “You can’t save everyone, Naruto. Open your eyes.”
Naruto let go of Sasuke’s t-shirt. “But I can save you.”
Sasuke turned his back on Naruto. “You’re a fool.”
“I know,” Naruto said, calming down as he let the heat, anger and frustration slowly seep out of his body. A few silent minutes passed and Naruto spoke again, “We need to get out of here. Any ideas?”
“None,” Sasuke said, voice lowered back to normal. “Why do they want you anyway?”
Naruto shrugged. “Bragging rights or revenge, probably—given who my parents were.”
An idea struck and Naruto’s eyes widened a fraction. “I have an idea to get them to open the door. We may have to have to fight our way out though. Try to take their weapons if you can.”
Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement and followed Naruto to the door. Naruto started banging his fists on the door.
“Let me out of here! I’m gonna kill this Uchiha scum if you don’t!” At first it sounded like nobody was coming, but Naruto persisted for a good few minutes and eventually the lock on the door clicked. Naruto made eye contact with Sasuke, who nodded in return, both of them readying themselves.
Two injured enemies later, Naruto and Sasuke weaved their way in and out of corridors, hiding or silently taking out enemies when necessary. It took a bit of back and forth but they finally arrived at a staircase Naruto recognised.
“Sasuke! This is the exit!” Naruto said.
“Let’s go,” Sasuke said, and started to make his way up the stairs. But something was wrong. Naruto didn’t follow.
“What about Karin?” he asked.
Sasuke paused. “After what she did, you still want to rescue her?”
Naruto frowned. “Of course. She’s on your crew.”
In a surprising move, Sasuke nodded and came back down the stairs. “I’ll get her. You get out of here.”
Naruto wanted to growl in frustration when he heard Sasuke say that. “No, asshole. We’ll do it together.”
“Why?” Sasuke asked, his voice quiet, vulnerable. “Why do you go so far for someone like me?”
Naruto took a breath. “It’s simple. You’re somebody important to me,” he said with certainty, like it was a fact.
Sasuke’s eyes widened for only a fraction of a second, but Naruto had seen it. But before he could say anything, Sasuke’s lips met his for a simple kiss. And then they were gone.
Naruto’s mind was racing a million miles a minute, screeching incomprehensible words at him, but mostly, what the fuck? And then… why did he stop? Wait—what?
Oh.
So that’s what Karin meant. This feeling. He’d known for a long time, he’d just always repressed it. It was easier that way, to avoid being hurt.
When he finally composed himself, he tried to meet Sasuke’s eyes but the man was deliberately looking away.
“Sasuke,” Naruto said.
But he wouldn’t look.
So Naruto did the only thing that felt natural. He reached out for Sasuke’s shirt collar, pulled him in by it and planted another kiss on Sasuke’s lips. Like the first it was brief, but the warmth of Sasuke’s lips still felt perfect against his. The thought made Naruto’s heart hammer in his chest. There would be time for more later, hopefully, but they had other priorities.
“Let’s save Karin,” Naruto said.
Sasuke nodded.
“Knew that woman was up to no good,” came a new but familiar voice. Kurama.
“Want some back-up?” came Gaara’s voice.
Naruto looked up the staircase. Gaara, Neji, Kurama, and Sai were standing there. Accompanied by… Suigetsu and Juugo of the Sharingan pirates?
“You guys! I’m so glad you’re here,” Naruto said, as his and Sasuke’s crewmates walked down the staircase. “Let’s go save Karin!”
“Yo, are we just gonna ignore the fact that our captains were kissing?” Suigetsu said.
“Yes,” Neji said, before Naruto could respond, cutting the conversation short.
Naruto’s face lit up red. He glanced at Sasuke, gauging his reaction—a small smile hinted at his lips. Wait—was he amused?
“Fuck you,” Naruto said, and punched Sasuke’s arm.
“Hopefully,” Sasuke said.
“You!” Naruto said, but couldn’t articulate much else given the frenzied state his mind was in. His face felt hot, all the way to the tips of his ears. “Time to get Karin!” he said, more to himself than anyone else. The last thing he needed was thoughts of Sasuke under him, naked and willing to be fucked by Naruto himself.
Damn it. He really needed to think unsexy thoughts. Quickly. Fortunately, the combined laughter of his and Sasuke’s crews definitely helped get his head back in the game.
Gaara took pity on him and clapped his shoulder. “Let’s go get her,” he said, and the whole group of them made their way back into the endless empty corridors of the underground facility.
When all was said and done, Danzou’s followers were spread about the floor in various states of injury, some possibly even dead. Naruto and the Nine-tailed Fox pirates were mostly fine, a few wounds but they would heal. The Sharingan crew were much the same.
They met up with Sasuke, who was accompanied by Karin, near the staircase they all met at initially.
“Danzou?” Naruto asked.
“Dealt with,” Sasuke simply responded.
Karin cleared her throat. “Er. Thanks for saving me despite what I did,” she said, looking at Naruto.
Naruto just made a dismissive wave-like gesture. “All good. Don’t worry about it,” he said.
“Do it again and I won’t be so forgiving,” Gaara said. There were hums of affirmation from the rest of the Nine-tailed Fox crew.
“Neither will I,” Sasuke said. Karin squirmed under their combined scrutiny.
“Anyway,” Naruto started, trying to lighten the mood, “who wants drinks? Food?”
It was incredible but also so typical of pirates as to how quickly the atmosphere lifted at the mention of booze and food.
After some decent food and booze in them, Naruto and Sasuke’s crewmates returned to their respective ships. Naruto and Sasuke stayed behind at the inn.
“I booked a room here for the night. If you wanna join me,” Naruto said, his cheeks aflame when he realised what that implied. “I’m not presuming anything! Just for a drink, if you want.”
Sasuke chuckled. “Sure.”
But the moment they made it into the room, Sasuke was on Naruto. He pushed Naruto onto the bed, flipped him onto his back, and straddled his lap. And only then did Naruto notice Sasuke was hard.
Naruto groaned. “Sasuke, you’re gonna kill me.”
Sasuke frowned. “What?”
In response, Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s hips and thrust up, letting Sasuke feel Naruto’s own hardness.
Sasuke smirked. “Oh.” He proceeded to grab Naruto’s hands and pinned them above Naruto’s head with one hand. Naruto complied, so turned on he might just let Sasuke do whatever he wanted.
And then Sasuke leaned down and kissed him. A proper kiss this time. Naruto moaned into it as Sasuke ground down against him.
When they separated, Sasuke said, “I want you to fuck me but…”
“We don’t have to,” Naruto said.
“I’m sore from my fight with Danzou.”
Naruto’s eyebrows drew together, worried. “Where?”
Sasuke pulled off his t-shirt and boy what a sight it was. Naruto wanted to run his hands all over Sasuke’s chest and abs, but stopped his thinking when he saw some serious bruising down Sasuke’s left side. He sat up.
“What the hell, Sasuke? Why didn’t you say something,” Naruto said as he inspected the damage, his hands careful not to agitate it further.
“It’s fine. It’s not like it can heal faster.”
Naruto frowned. “Let me run downstairs for some ice for it.”
“No. It’s fine,” Sasuke said and made to move.
Naruto put his arm out to stop him. He didn’t think he would win this argument, unless…
“Let me ice it and I’ll suck you off? I would do it regardless but I’ll feel better if you have some ice on that bruising.”
Sasuke’s eyes went darker than normal. “Fine, but you have two minutes to get back here.”
“Got it!” Naruto said. He took his jacket off and tied it around his waist in hopes of concealing his erection before he sprinted downstairs to the inn staff. He returned with a towel-covered icepack specifically for medical use and burst into the room.
He was not prepared for the sight he was met with. Sasuke was lounging on the bed, completely naked, stroking himself.
“Fuuuuuuuck, Sasuke,” Naruto said, as he climbed onto the bed. His cock fully hard again. It was a sight Naruto had never thought he’d see and a sight he knew would never be beaten.
He gently pressed the icepack against Sasuke’s bruising. Sasuke flinched at the coldness but took over from Naruto. Naruto, for his part, pulled Sasuke over so he was sitting on the edge of the bed and then situated himself between Sasuke’s legs.
Sasuke’s cock was a good size and thickness and Naruto eagerly replaced Sasuke’s hand with his own on him. He licked along the underside before proceeding to give the head a taste. Some precum came out and Naruto licked it up.
“Stop teasing,” Sasuke said, his voice stilted.
So Naruto did just that as he took Sasuke in his mouth. He really couldn’t believe that this was his life. That he was sucking off his once enemy. His really hot once enemy. He swallowed Sasuke down and gazed up at him. Their eyes met. Sasuke’s were dark with lust and Naruto was sure his were the same. Sasuke’s cheeks were flushed pink. How many people got the privilege of seeing this side of Sasuke? The sight made Naruto harder. He put his other hand on his own cock and started stroking in rhythm with his mouth.
“Fuck, Naruto,” Sasuke said.
Naruto pulled his hand off of himself and lightly fingered down Sasuke’s perineum before tilting him off the bed just enough that he could run the tip of his finger over his hole teasingly.
The next thing he knew, Sasuke was coming in Naruto’s mouth as he cried out. Naruto swallowed it all down and jerked himself a few more strokes until he was coming too.
When Naruto was back to his senses, Sasuke had a towel in his hand and started to wipe him down.
“Er. Sorry. You caught me by surprise,” Sasuke said, his cheeks still flushed as he held his hand out for Naruto to get up onto the bed.
“Mm I liked it,” Naruto said as he laid back on the bed. He rolled his head to the side, looking at Sasuke, only to find that the man was gazing at him already.
“Is your side okay?” Naruto asked, glancing at the icepack.
“Yeah,” Sasuke said.
“Good.” Naruto smiled and then yawned.
“Go to sleep,” Sasuke said.
“Mm. Don’t want to,” Naruto said. But what went unsaid was I don’t want to wake up and you be gone.
Sasuke must have had a sixth sense, because he leaned over and whispered in Naruto’s ear. “But how will you fuck me in the morning if you’re too tired?”
Naruto’s eyes widened comically, as Sasuke retreated to his side of the bed. “Sasuke! You can’t just say things like that.”
“But I can,” Sasuke said, smirking. He grabbed hold of Naruto’s hand. “Sleep, idiot.”
Naruto closed his eyes and did as instructed.
He awoke to a set of familiar eyes gazing at him. Sasuke had stayed.
They had a lot to figure out, but at least they could figure it out together.
There were two rules Naruto Uzumaki knew to be indisputably true about the pirate world:
- The pirate world was ruthless and cutthroat, every person for themselves. It had been this way for as long as it had existed. Even if Naruto and his crew personally didn’t agree nor willingly go along with it.
- Naruto Uzumaki’s greatest love was Sasuke Uchiha. And if Sasuke’s behaviour was anything to go by, the feeling was mutual.
Author's Notes
thanks for reading :>