EDIT: RE-WRITTEN BECAUSE I CAN. I ADDED AND CORRECTED A LOT OF STUFF. OBVIOUSLY WHEN I RE-READ THIS AFTER SOME TIME I'LL ATTEMPT ANOTHER REWRITE BUT FOR NOW I'M HAPPY WITH THIS. HOPE YOU WILL BE TOO. THANK YOU AND HAPPY READING!
A/N: Hullo, people! No hate please. That aside, this is my first Naruto fanfic that I felt brave enough to post on this site. Read & Review. All chapters have been re-edited but if you still find some silly mistakes or typos, I'd appreciate volunteers for a Beta reader. That is all. Thank you for reading.
P.S. I'm just gonna let the plot go with the flow. Remember, Everything is written for a reason. But suggestions are always welcome. I know the characters maybe a little OOC but bear with me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any other relative characters portrayed in this fanfic. They are all property of Masashi Kishimoto.
Warning: This fic contains Yaoi(more like Shounen-Ai until I warn you..), basically ItachixNaruto with a li'l bit of SasuxHina (afterwards). You no like, you no read.
Chapter 1 ~ Hasty Retreat.
Hasty footsteps breached the silence filling the stringent street atmosphere. Fading neon signs and dimly lit cafes lining the streets illuminated his silhouette making way on the pavement. The lone figure broke into a run, passing curious glances of anonymous faces. He clutched the box closer to his chest. He would slow down but he saw no reason in his current situation. Wind swept shaggy blond hair hid the welling of emotions in azure eyes.
He ran to the curb of the street, wiping an escaping tear running along the curve of his whisker-scarred cheeks with his shirt sleeve. It only stung of reminders; faint whispers of memories echoed through the chaos in his head. How his much-loved would call him a fox, with those identical whisker-like marks on his cheeks. He used to hate the indentations but it was funny how simple adoration on Itachi's part made him change his mind.
He picked up his pace, heading for his own apartment, probably dusty from the lack of residence for such a long time. It wasn't that he didn't miss his own home but, he would miss the comfort and satisfaction of waking up in his arms even more, as much of a faint memory as that was.
"Damn him, damn this stupid love, damn these emotions.." The blond punched the apartment wall outside, punctuating the sentence with each punch. Every expression left trembling lips through a raspy breath. But he couldn't take rest until some of the red brick tincture grazed his knuckles stinging the already forming red bruise. He retracted after a moment's pause, welcoming the flood of pain. The blond tried to calm down.
His mind felt clouded as he leaned his head on the wall for much needed support. He thought of calling someone but this wasn't the time to trouble anyone, besides, they would just point towards the obvious. He looked up towards the skies for some sense of clarity and closed them in defeat. The first drop of rain on his nose brought a disclosure that cut right through his welling of emotions like a tidal wave. But the clichéd irony of the moment passed him and made him chuckle as he set down the cardboard box of his belongings. He glanced down. All the things he had grabbed in haste, chucked in the cramped space. He gave a melancholic chortle as more raindrops bounced off the pavement.
The blond ruffled his hair and bent down to pick up a single photo. It was encased in a wooden frame with the engraving "Forever is only till you want it to be.'' It showed said blond with a peace sign pulling close a stoic raven crossing an arm around his shoulder. He was all smiles but 'did Itachi ever bother to return the gesture?' He was now wondering to himself.
He might admit, at this point, he was just searching for reasons to make the break easier for him. Itachi was a perfect being, well, on the surface as he was mostly a cold emotionless bastard. But that wouldn't explain why the blond would fall for an ice figure. It was true that it was hard to elicit emotions out of the elder Uchiha but he could clearly see the depth of his emotions reflected in those ebony irises that were famous for stone cold glares.
He flipped the frame and took the photo out, folding it to deposit inside his jacket pocket for an odd keepsake. He stood there marvelling at the moment before heading inside. "It was a long time coming". His silent whisper was vanquished by the downpour on the streets.
…
He wiped his feet on the orange doormat and flicked the light switch upon entering. The apartment was neat and cozy but the furnished apartment felt dusty due to being unoccupied for the past year. He wondered briefly why he still paid rent until he remembered that he owned it. 'Well, so much for that.'
He stripped off his dripping clothes in distaste heading for the shower. The blond was still troubled by his thoughts, he hoped the cold water would cleanse the despair but he knew it would take time. The radio he turned on was sweeping him in songs of bad breakups with lyrics that only infuriated him in his vain process of not quite denial but for overruling his weak attempts of wanting a patch up, wanting an explanation for what could not be unseen. 'Who would need an explanation for the obviously evident?'
He did not care if the bastard was the CEO of Uchiha Corps., one of the leading companies of the modern world. He did not care even if he knew that he had not heeded the warnings beforehand. It still amazed him though, how one thing could set everything else in place. It was like being bathed in a new light that made everything clear to him. Previously he thought relationships, at least long term; stable ones were all about compromise and adjusting according to your partner's needs. But now he felt the heaviness crashing down on his shoulders, he could never handle it, not in this façade.
The blond stepped out of the shower and tuned down the radio, muscles on his lean frame contoured his tanned chest, ending the cabaret at the orange towel he held around his waist. Holding his previous thoughts, the blond grabbed the phone on the kitchen wall with his free hand and dialled a familiar number.
A single pause, then he spoke carefully, steeling his resolve.
"It's Naruto."
He waited for the secretary to forward his call to a person he would have to confess to now.
"Naruto..?" There was a pause and rustling of papers. "Are you okay, what happened?" Minato took one worried glance at the time displayed on his laptop. It was day outside.
"Oh, it's nothing dad, just.." He sighed; there was no going back now. "You were right."
There was a slight chuckle in response. "In all sincerity, you did try your best. It's just the free life is not for everyone, and it's time you come back, then?" The question hung in the air.
"Are you asking if I'm sure about it?.." There was a slight hitch in his response.
In the silence that caved in on Naruto, he saw a glimpse of the scene that broke it all down. What he went through and what his dad didn't know.
'Itachi was in a pristine café, sitting across from a beauty of a woman who was smiling at him earnestly.' However what made him ache wasn't her but the small smile fixated on the raven's face.
Naruto was just innocently strolling by on his day off from his cover desk job and making rounds of the art studios. Hands shoved inside his pocket, wondering if he should treat himself to something sweet. He had just turned to see beyond the takeout counter adjoined to the glass at the entrance of the café when he saw it.
Oh how he thought that he was the only one entitled to any true emotion from his boyfriend of more than a year. All this time, he had tried his best, despite their jagged edges, to fit together perfectly. Just the thought of him even entertaining someone else with his company or something trivial like a date when he was still the one whom he snuggled up to late was simply intolerable to him. It broke what they held together dearly, yet carelessly.
The blond felt shaken up and broke into a run leaving his cupcake order; he rushed to their shared apartment to gather a few things. Next thing he knew he had circled his solo apartment street twice before it dawned on him. Well, more like crashed on his paradise, shattering every inch of his strongly upheld illusions.
From the casual talks intercepted by business phone calls to the evening walks and movies cancelled one too often due to appointments. The nights he would lie awake in constant worry in lack of a simple phone call, waiting for him to come home. But he would dab at his tears too swiftly at the ring of their doorbell; too quick for him to notice. Too quick for him to know when or how bridge the growing gap between them even if his tears left moisture on his shoulder from a needy hug upon his arrival.
He was shifting and changing, excusing the interruptions or delays as a temporary thing, reformed his schedule from his job to make more time. He told Itachi to, and he thought he did too because he saw him more often, working at his laptop or compiling documents, glancing at him with a small smile through his coffee breaks and that would put Naruto's heart at ease. Maybe, this had hope; this could work out after all. But all that collapsed into a self-made grave when he saw Itachi sharing smiles with that woman. That was the last straw for him; he wouldn't even bother with an explanation for it. He was too broken to comprehend the hurt even though he knew inside; he was reaching his limit soon.
"Yeah, I'm sure." Naruto murmured, determined in his sad recluse.
"Okay, then I'll tell Hinata-chan to forward the new address and the tickets. See you soon, son." Minato knew his talk with Naruto would have to wait for now. He was afraid of this but he could only wait.
"Yeah. Later, Dad." The blond was clutching the phone too hard with unnecessary force but the disconnected tone brought out a single tear from the breaking dam of emotions inside him.
He stood there for what seemed like hours before he wiped off non-existent sweat from his forehead, still clutching his towel weakly with one hand. "So it's really over, huh!?" He mused on his way to the bedroom where he changed into comfy boxers and tried to sleep.
