"I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause
I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Each Pokemon to understand
The power that's inside
Pokemon, its you and me
I know it's my destiny
Pokemon, oh, you're my best friend
In a world we must defend"
The windows were rolled down and music blasted from the abused radio. Sunglasses on, Naruto drove toward the closet supermarket with his mind set on his goal, namely, a pack of Cherrios. He had been craving them all afternoon and had finally caved in, after figuring he wouldn't rest well until his stomach was full of his favourite cereal.
So there he sat, in his car, singing like a madman because it was the weekend, he was going on a quest to find his precious processed food, and it was making his joyful.
Naruto could be considered as a child.
He was 26, but that didn't stop him from being childish every now and then. His shirt was the perfect illustration of that aspect. He wore a tight sky blue shirt, making his identically blue eyes pop out, picturing Pikachu in the middle of a lightning attack. If anyone asked him, he'd say it was the coolest tee shirt ever, and he wore it with pride. Whoever disagreed could just go to hell.
Slowing down, he turned left and entered the parking, searching for an empty space. As he proceeded down the road, weird looks were shot at him. After all, he was still singing as obnoxiously as ever a song that played on the radio fifty times a day. The sort of song no one wanted to hear more times than necessary, especially not if sung by someone who had no singing talent whatsoever.
"Pokemon, a heart so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I'll teach you
Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all
Every challenge along the way"
Just in front of him, a car pulled out and left him the space. Naruto parked and detached himself, considering leaving the power on the finish the song. But that would mean he agreed to take part in the planet's destruction, which he didn't. Sighing, he turned the engine off. Global warming always won in the end.
Stepping out of the car, he slammed the door and dropped his keys. Kneeling down to grab them, he let out a curse as he noticed he still had his slippers on. He froze for a second before grunting something, and headed toward the supermarket.
Well, he was there, might as well go and get what he had came here to do, right? Not to mention it was not the first time it happened. His slippers were the most comfortable things ever; he spent his days in it. He even brought them to work! It seems it helped his creativity, and since his team mostly included friends from University, they never commented on it. They knew he had some weird habits, and had learnt not to care about them so much. Naruto was still Naruto, even with weird-ass slippers or the hideous animal hats he dared to wear during rain season.
The slippers were weird, but Naruto could care less. They were fluffy and blue-purple, and the front showed the Cookie Monster with a huge grin. Inside the slippers were the letters "RRrrr", but since Naruto's feet were in it, it was invisible for everyone else. They reached up to his ankles, so he couldn't say they were particularly… discreet.
However, his friends had often said that he could pull off anything and still look good. He sincerely hoped it wasn't a bad joke, because he was just about to practice the theory. Usually, whenever he forgot his shoes and walked out either with his slippers, or bare feet, it was rarely to go out to the supermarket, where loads of people could see him and judge his fashion sense. Not that he particularly cared all that much… but still.
He wandered in the multiple aisles, picking up different items all the while looking for the cereal compartment. He wasn't exactly acquainted with the supermarket, and needed to refuel his cupboards anyways.
He passed straight through the pastas, knowing if he'd looked at it he'd buy himself some instant noodles. He was trying to stick to his New Year's resolution to not eat more than two cups of instant ramen a week. It was already February and so far, so good. He had made this tough resolution when Sakura had told him about all the nasty stuff the food industry had put in there, such as conservatives and E chemicals.
Concerned, he had searched on the Web what kind of diseases it could provoke, and had been startled to see the hundreds of warning sites that had immediately clouded his search monitor, not expecting so many information. Hell, he had discovered some corpses didn't rot for weeks after their death because the conservatives had made their way into their bodies and kept them looking nice, like a pickle kept in vinegar. It had disgusted him, but not enough to give up on it. Just enough to limit the damage as much as possible. He had decided to balance his preservative diet with fruits and veggies. Well, fruits were full of pesticides too, but in this world, it was hard to know what you really ate anyway.
Stopping in front of the cereals, he scrunched his nose and looked through the different boxes, his face lighting up with a smile and eyes sparkling as his hand shot up to grab the 1 kilo pack Cherrios. It would be gone in a week anyway, since Cherrios was his way to go, whenever he was too lazy to pick up a fight with food and frying pans.
Heading back toward the cashier, he ignored the odd looks thrown at his feet and made his way to the shortest queue. He knew it was useless, because he always ended up waiting longer than all the others that had been queuing for a shorter time.
Murphy's law was a bitch.
He started to murmur the Pokémon tune under his breath, the song being stuck in his head. He unconsciously tapped his foot, creating a rhythm as he waited.
Naruto had never been a very patient man, and queuing in the supermarket was one of the reasons he never ever went there on busy days.
He was the kind to follow the sun, just like chickens; he'd sleep early and wake up early. Therefore, anytime he needed to shop for food, he'd come there early morning on a weekend, when everyone else was busy taking care of their hangovers or their lack of sleep during their week by sleeping it off.
His eyes darted from left to right, searching for something interesting to latch his gaze onto. Not finding anything, he decided to play with his slippers, lifting the front of his sole repeatedly, which in turn, made the furred Cookie Monster execute a sort of dance. He alternatively lifted one foot after the other and let out a laugh. From afar, he knew he probably looked like a weirdo, but oh well, he already wore fluffy shoes, so...
"Interesting choice of footwear."
He spun around at the low, amused voice that had come from behind, and sighed wearily at the comment. That same sigh got caught up in his throat when he met the other's eyes. They were dark, almost black, but maybe they gave up this impression because of his very pale face. Quickly regaining his composure, he looked down at the man's shoes and made a face, trying to look bored.
"Can't say the same about yours", he replied cockily, meeting the man's eyes once again. Naruto had thought his answer would have made the other annoyed, or angry. After all, he didn't know the guy, for all he knew, he could have been some sort of madman with anger management problems, that wouldn't have been the first time it happened. He was the kind to get himself into those kinds of troubles, his lousy humour often being taken more seriously than it was meant to. It seemed though, if he had to judge be the smirk and the lifted eyebrow, that the other man took the joke lightly.
"Why sorry, I didn't know stealing-cookie-monster were the new shoe trend… or rather, slipper trend", the stranger replied, raising his eyebrows expectantly.
"Only if you're cool", Naruto shot back. This time, his answer managed to rip a smile from the smug man. He revealed a straight row of white teeth that made Naruto mirror the other's action. He always had been the kind to spread happiness around, like a piece of butter being spread by a butter knife on a warm toast.
If someone was happy, chances were he would end up happy as well. The stranger looked down and examined his own clothes. Naruto used the distraction to take on the man's appearance. He seemed to be around his age, but also looked like he had probably way more experience in the work area than himself. Well, not that he had absolutely no experience whatsoever, but let's say his job was more… flexible.
The other wore a compete black suit with a white dress shirt that had been unbutonned down to the fourth button. The tie that probably had strangled his neck all day was undone and hung sexily from his neck. His skin was a pale shade of white, that contrasted shockingly with his own caramel colored skin and the stranger's dark hair; he looked like a walking paradox. Black and white, firm features that made him look cool and collected when expressionless, but handsome and charming when smiling. His attitude made Naruto think that he was hiding a secret, maybe a joke, the kind no one could understand but him. His black eyes glimered whith mischief, and Naruto realized it turned him on. The man looked like he could handle any situation being thrown at him in a matter of seconds, and when the charcoal eyes stared up back to him amusingly, Naruto knew he had caught him staring unabashedly. Refusing the blush that threatned to spread on his face, he opened his mouth to say something when the man cut him short.
"So you're saying I'm not cool?" he asked slowly, eyes boring into Naruto's blue ones. The way he stood, all straight and mighty, made the blond realized the businessman probably never lost any talk fight. A powerful aura emaned from him, as though he possessed all world's answer. The same power would be found in the way he talked, like he was leading the discussion and knew exactly where it was heading and how it would end.
It attarcted and infuriated Naruto at the same time.
"I did not say that. But your clothes talks for you". He recieved a raised eyebrow and explained himself : "who wears a suit on a Saturday?" He rolled his eyes to enphazise his uncomprehension.
"People with responsabilities? "proposed the man, the very same smirk he had showed a few minutes ago back on full force. Naruto shook his head and replied.
"Workaholics".
Naruto turned his attention back to his food and set his itmes on the rolling thing, for which he didn't know the name. People called it the rolling thing, didn't they? He quickly looked over to the next cashier and, sure enough, a man that had been queuing less time than him was already paying his bill.
Screw Murphy.
His attention once again returned to the man behind him, as his food items were scanned by a lady who looked like death would be more enjoyable than her job. He saluted her with a smile, and she grunted something in return that sounded like "Whatever".
Making a face, Naruto turned to the man and realize he didn't catch his name. He opened his mouth and way cut short again.
"Sasuke".
"What?" he asked, bewildered. The man shrugged him shoulders and kicked an invisible pebble out of the way.
"You wanted to know my name, right?" he asked almost sheepishly, which made Naruto grin.
"Seriously? Do you have some sort of magical power or something?"
"I have a degree in cognitive science and psychology, I read body language pretty well", he explained, setting his food down on the rolling thing, since Naruto's ones were now in the bag he had brought.
Sasuke pointed at the bag Naruto had used : "Saving the planet?"
The blond made a disgrunted noise.
"Any small action counts, right? By the way, I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." he said almost non-commitally. Sasuke's eyes widened and he nodded as he took out of his breast pocket his purse, waiting for the lady to give the other man his receipt. The blond thanked her and he left the space to let Sasuke come forward. He thought he could leave, but didn't feel in such a hurry anymore. Cheerios could wait. Deciding that silence would suffice, he waited patiently for Sasuke to pay. When the man turned to him, he didn' t look surprised at all, as thought it was prefectly normal for a stranger to wait for another one.
They walked out of the supermarket side by side, Sasuke nudging the bag with his palstic one.
"So, what's up with the slippers?" he asked. He looked up to the tee shirt, opened his mouth… and closed it. Apparently, he didn't feel the need to point out how stupid the shirt looked to him.
Naruto ignored it and answered truthfully.
"I was sort of in a hurry, and forgot.".
"…You 'forgot'." The tone was disbelief melted with hilarity.
"Well, when hunger takes over…" he started, not bothering to end his sentence. Sasuke seemed like a man with enough intelligence to get it.
"So you were in a hurry to go to the supermarket…" he eyed the bag Naruto was carrying. "That's rather… odd".
"I craved Cheerios, what can I say?" he shrugged as they got out by the glass doors and came to a halt.
They stood awkwardly in front of the supermarket, unsure of what to do. Naruto's fingers were red where the tissue cut off the circulation, the bag heavy with food products. His hand started to burn but he ignored it, deciding instead that he had to make a quick decision if he didn't want his digits to turn black and fall off.
"So… wanna share a bowl of Cherrios sometime?" he asked awkwardly, fidgeting like a child hoping to get a lollipop in a candy store. The immediate answer made him relax and smile.
"I thought you'd never ask".
Apparently his smile was contagious because at soon as his appeared, it reflected on Sasuke's face.
"Your car or my car?" The blond smirked and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively while looking intensely at Sasuke. The pale man laughed out loud and Naruto couldn't help but shiver at the sound. He had a feeling Sasuke didn't laugh often, and realized he wanted to hear it again.
"You're an idiot," mumbled Sasuke, embarrassed. He tried to hide his face but Naruto caught it in his hand and started to drag him toward his car, having made the decision to save his fingers. He unlocked his Hybrid and opened the back door, dropping his bag on the seat.
"Jump in and drop your stuff back there". The blond pointed to the backseat and sat himself on the driver's seat, starting the car with a soft roar.
" Pokemon, a heart so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I'll teach you
Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all
Every challenge along the way
With courage I will face
I will battle every day
To claim my rightful place
Come with me, the time is right
There's no better team
Arm in arm we'll win the fight
It's always been our dream"
Sasuke took a seat next to him and tried to keep a straight face. His features twisted in a way that made Naruto think he was going to comment on it and he interjected:
"Don't", he shot, pulling off of the parking lot, blushing furiously.
"I was not gonna say a thing", replied Sasuke jokingly, looking straight in front of him, desperately trying to hide his amusement.
XXXX
They sat on Naruto's summer sofa in his garden, enjoying the soft breeze that cooled the warm air. Naruto sat crossed-legged on the white cushion and was currently lifting his silver spoon full of milk and Cheerios up to his mouth. Sasuke elegantly sat by the blond's side, his hands holding both a bowl and a spoon. He wasn't too fond of eating sugar in the afternoon, but he could make an exception, for once. He closed his eyes and let the sun warm his face, breathing deeply.
It was nice. He hadn't had a calm moment like that in a long time. Naruto had lent him some clothes, since they were approximately the same size, so he wore a casual grey tee-shirt and a light brown Bermuda. He had been surprised (and pleased) that Naruto owned normal clothing, and had been easily convinced to step out of his work clothes.
Surprisingly, the blond's house was rather nice, not really big, but wide enough to be comfortable. He had looked around the living room as Naruto got him something to wear, and had started to wonder what had brought Naruto there. He was apparently living alone, didn't sport a wedding ring and had only one bedroom, which implied no children.
The young man was quite a mystery, and Sasuke liked mysteries very much. He wanted to know what had brought the man here, since when he'd been living in the country and why they hadn't met before. After all, there weren't a lot of business companies in Cambodia that hired white people and asked them to commute to the country. He had to be either really clever, hence indispensible, or had wanted to move out in Asia, which was a tough choice to make when you were on your own. He knew this for sure, having made the decision himself two years ago.
Not to mention the man seemed like a very social person, and exiling himself in the middle of a country where most people did not speak his language and where most expat were as snobbish as snob could get...
How did he manage to cope with the loneliness, the cultural differences?
"How come you are living here?" asked the blond, startling him. It seemed as though they had been following the same train of thought.
"There were some people I wanted to avoid for a while." He answered simply. He didn't feel the need to mention whom for now. They were slowly getting acquainted, and he didn't feel like throwing his whole (complicated) life story in Naruto's face. The tanned man shifted slightly, and Sasuke sensed the uneasiness settling in. However, he was surprised when the tension dropped and Naruto sighed.
"That can happen", he said. He then brought some Cherrios to his mouth and that was that.
"Hn. What about you?" Sasuke asked, wanting to know a little bit more of Naruto's back story.
"Well", the blond started, chewing conscientiously at his food. He swallowed, put his bowl down on the glass table next to them and uncrossed his legs, extending them in Sasuke's direction. The other man didn't say anything when the tip of Naruto's toe touched his thigh. Maybe he hadn't noticed? "I've been requested to design the Livaro Tower. You've seen the tall building, the one that looks like a spaceship?" Sasuke nodded and Naruto grinned: "I made it." He stopped himself and furrowed his eyebrows, lifting his index to correct himself. "Well, I didn't 'make it' per se, but I designed it. That's what I do. I design stuff. Well, buildings, but I also designed a car once. I was living in Australia at the time and it took a while, I was trying to make the plans at home, but I quickly realized it wouldn't be easy. Moving here was the best decision, so I did."
"How long have you been living here?" he asked, genuinely interested now.
"A few years, maybe… five now, I think." He paused. "What about you, Sasuke, you didn't answer my question. What do you do?" The blond leaned down on the couch, resting his head on his hands. He shot a look a Sasuke and nudged him with his left foot, encouraging him to answer, then reported his eyes on the cloudless blue sky, waiting for the profound voice to ring again.
"I'm a permanent journalist for the CBS News. I was asked to come here to interview that one guy two years ago, and I fell in love with the country. So I'm based here now, and work from home, unless they want me to go over and cover some news all over Asia."
"So you travel a lot, right?" wondered Naruto, lifting his head a little to make eye contact with Sasuke.
"Yeah… I guess so. It's not bad though. Keeps me occupied." Somehow, the way the last sentence had been said made Naruto think Sasuke felt bitter about something. He didn't want to push the issue though, so he kept silent about it, storing the information somewhere in his brain.
"Hm."
They did not say much after that, letting the wind blow softly on their faces. The silence wasn't uncomfortable at all, and Naruto was grateful for it. It was rare; those moments when he could just breathe out and relax. His job was basically his life, and he spent his days working, so relaxing wasn't exactly the sort of thing he was used to. He wasn't a workaholic, he had his moments, usually when Kiba decided it was time for a little fun and dragged him forcefully out for a night of drinking, that lead to bad, bad headache the morning after.
"Where are you from, Naruto? I mean originally," suddenly asked Sasuke, watching him intently. "You have a Japanese name, but you look nothing like an Asian. It's… odd?"
Naruto laughed at the comment and the reporter sighed relaxingly. He didn't want to feel like a creep, but he was curious. It was odd, after all.
"I am not Asian. Well… technically, I might be a quarter Asian, but I don't think at that point you're supposed to mention it. My great grand mother was Japanese, but she married my great grand father who was completely Australian. And she's the only Japanese we have in the family. I'm 99% Australian. The name is weird, I have to agree, but all my family's like that. My great great grand father on my father's side was fond of sake, and he just… I don't know. He named his son after some Japanese old man he liked, and it's like a tradition now. I guess. Whatever."
"Well, tradition usually settles without you knowing how, right?"
"Hm. Yup. Probably." He chewed on his cereals. "I would ask you why 'Sasuke', but I feel like it's obvious. You look Asian... sort of." He vaguely waved in the air, as if it would explain what he had just said.
"That's because I am half Japanese. My mom is Spanish."
"That's why you're so handsome", threw Naruto offhandedly. "Spanish people are always beautiful. Good thing you got the tall gene, too". Sasuke raised his eyebrows and Naruto seemed to realize what he had just said. The pale man smirked and demanded, half amused, a small smile playing on his lips: "You think I'm handsome? "Naruto blushed and hide his face by putting his arm over his eyes, then grabbed a pillow and threw it at Sasuke's face. "Don't pretend you don't know, you pretty prick!"
Again, Sasuke's low laugh echoed in his garden and Naruto gorged himself of the sound.
Jesus.
"Hey! Someone there!?"
They heard the voice before they saw the face pop out of he French doors.
The man had a brown mop of hair that covered a really tan face and caramel eyes. As he came out of the house and in the garden, Sasuke noticed the broad shoulders and the fit body. The man wasn't slim; he was a pile of muscles that moved with each of his movement, making him look powerful. He was in most ways different than the man. Sasuke was slender and looked like he had never seen the sun, the other guy was the exact contrary.
Naruto got up to hug the man standing in the doorway. The way they held each other made it look like they were really close, maybe intimate? It made Sasuke's blood twist. The smile Naruto had plastered on his face was similar to the man's grin. They were so much alike…
"Kiba, man! What're you doing here?" he sounded surprised yet pleased, and Sasuke felt something stir inside him that felt like jealousy. He ignored it and got up as well, eyeing Kiba's hand on Naruto's arm. Naruto turned to him, smiled and waved his hand, hurrying him over while Kiba retorted:
"The hell, you prick?! You told me to come over so we could look up the plans for the Platinium building!"
"Shit!" Naruto slapped his forehead. "I completely forgot! Things got… busy." He shot a look at Sasuke and Kiba raised his eyebrows. It might not look like it, but Kiba was a very sensible man…
"Busy?" he asked suspiciously.
"Unexpected." Sasuke cut in, extending his hand. Kiba looked at him, then at Naruto, and back at him. He shook his hand strongly and smiled.
"I'm Kiba," he said, letting go of the strong shake of hands.
"Sasuke".
"Kiba's my best friend". Naruto turned to said friend "I met Sasuke a few hours ago. At the supermarket. And I dunno, we ended up here. Talked. Ate Cherrios. Kinda napped. I think. So I forgot about us. My bad."
"That's alright, I can come back later if… you know." Kiba said, gesturing between the two of them and started to retreat, but was stopped by Sasuke.
"Don't. I was the one intruding. I'll leave you guys to it."
They stood awkwardly for a few seconds outside, before Kiba cleared his throat. It was all it took to wake Naruto up from his daydreaming. He seemed to come back on Earth and laughed to cover his embarrassment. Of course. It was his house, he was the one who had to lead the guest out.
"Yeah, yeah, right. I'll escort you to the door, Sas'ke." He followed Sasuke in the house and to the door, glad that Kiba had stayed outside to allow them some privacy.
"So…" started Naruto, not really knowing what to say.
"I have a sense of déjà vu."
"Indeed… "he sighed. "I wish I could see you again." Naruto spoke sheepishly. Sasuke didn't answer. He hugged him quickly and took two steps backwards, smiling seductively.
"Oh, I'll see you again Naruto, don't doubt it."
The blond shivered at the tone but suppressed it. The way he had said it made Naruto feel like Sasuke knew something he didn't, and it made him frown. Sasuke offered him one last smile and turned around, walking straight from where they had came from earlier. That's when Naruto remembered something.
"Hey!" he called, "how are you going to get to your car? Want me to drive you?"
"My mommy taught me how to walk, Naruto", he called back.
"But it's four miles back to the supermarket!" Naruto yelled. Well, it wasn't a dangerous walk back, and the weather was rather nice, so it would not be an issue, but Naruto felt bad nonetheless. He had been the one deciding to drive Sasuke back to his place, so it only made sense that he'd bring him back. Courtesy and such.
Yet Sasuke kept walking, not once glancing back. The smaller man stood there for a while before retreating slowly, eyeing the silhouette. Well… Naruto wasn't going to run after an unwilling person, right? And he wasn't going to stand here forever either. He closed the door and got up the stairs, retrieving documents and sketches concerning the Platinum project. He descended the steps two at a time and headed outside, where Kiba was still seated, holding a glass of water and sipping on it. He took a seat next to him and spread the papers on the table.
"Sorry I kept you waiting."
"Nah, it's all good. I get you were… busy." The way Kiba wiggled his eyebrows up and down, just like he did when thinking about something perverted, made him roll his eyes.
"You...! I wasn't busy doing that, you moron!"
"I'm the moron? Well I'm not the one who picked up some dude from the streets now, am I?"
"I did not pick him up, you idiot! We met and it was perfectly legal! By all means!"
"Yeah right", snickered Kiba. He gave him a look and continued, "…you whore", he murmured. Five seconds later he was hit by the very same pillow he had throw Sasuke earlier. Kiba yelped and try to defend himself from the second one that was flying towards his face. "What's wrong with you? I thought your new job was to give pleasure?!"
"You're sick", snorted Naruto, crossing his arms and pouting childishly.
"You love me."
Naruto clipped his tongue. "Pft. Let's get this work done, so I can throw you out of my house."
"What, you got another whore coming later on?"
"Jesus, Kiba! You have a sick mind!"
"So. Who's that guy, seriously?" Asked Kiba.
"Sasuke… shit, I don't even know his last name. Ah, I was gonna search for him on Linked In or something."
"You were going to creep him? You stalker." Kiba said, shaking his head in disapprobation. Naruto ignored it, knowing Kiba was only joking. But he did sort of feel like a creep. As much as he tried to convince himself it was out of genuine curiosity, a part of him knew perfectly it was more than that. He had felt something; call it whatever, a connection, a feeling, instinct… He wanted to know more about the man. He felt it in his gut, that Sasuke wasn't just some random stranger. He was funny, clever, and Naruto felt at ease with him, as if he'd known him forever.
"I wanted to… not creep him but, like… ugh, I'm so confused, man. I feel like I've been riding a rollercoaster for four hours."
"You do? Sounds like you're ill".
"I'm not ill, I'm… wondering where it could lead to. Sasuke and I, I mean… we met and talked, and it almost felt like us expect… It was more, uh…" Naruto didn't finish, not really knowing how to formulate it.
"More like you wanted to jump his bones?" proposed Kiba, a grin playing on his lips.
"…Yeah. I guess", admitted Naruto.
"Maybe he's got the hots for you, too. That would make you soul mates."
"What? God, you're so cheesy, Kib'. We are not soulmates. I've known him for like three hours!"
"Well, yeah, genius, that's my point."
"Can we please not talk about it right now? I still don't know how I feel about this whole thing", Naruto muttered.
"If you invited him over, I mean, it's kind of a big deal. You don't know the guy, he could've been a serial killer".
"Does he look like a serial killer?"
"No?"
"Right".
Kiba seemed to understand he was going to annoy his friend with his remake of the Inquisition and decided to drop the subject in favour of another one. He would come back to Sasuke at some other time.
"Okay, okay, I'm backing off. Let's get this work done, right? Oh, and dude, did ya get my mail? You got an interview with some guy tomorrow. About the opening of the Livaro. 'Cuz you're Australian and you managed to make it here so, you know, they wanna know all your secrets", he said the last sentence with a pedophile voice and Naruto grunted.
"Moron".
"4pm. He's gonna meet you in your office", added Kiba.
"Hm", murmured Naruto absentmindedly. He received a pillow in his head and moaned in discomfort.
"Stop daydreaming about your whore boyfriend".
"He's not a whore, and he's not my boyfriend", Naruto grumbled.
"But you miss him?"
Naruto thought about it for a while. Then thought it about it some more.
It wasn't exactly missing him, it felt more like a will to hang out with him more, to understand who he was. Curiosity? No, it wasn't just that. He was comfortable around Sasuke, relaxed. He felt like he could be his childish self and wouldn't be blamed for it. He felt like he could be himself.
There was also something else. Something that made him long for him, in a way he'd never felt before. He wanted to be close to Sasuke. Touch him, feel him, and share things together in the way a couple would do. It frightened him, this extreme feeling of belonging not somewhere, but to someone. Like his mind had unconsciously chosen Sasuke to be the man that would fill the emotional hole in his life, next to his best friend. Kiba was his family. His father had died years again a dreadful accident, and his mom hadn't been the same since… hadn't been in her right mind. She wouldn't talk to him, wouldn't acknowledge his existence. He barely even spoke to her since he had moved to Cambodia. Kiba had taken the place of the brother he'd never had, and Naruto always had had some kind of issue bonding with people. He did have a lot of friends, but not a lot of close friends, with who he could share his feelings.
Yet, now, as he thought of Sasuke, he felt like he could spill his guts to the man right there and wouldn't feel weird for it. In fact… he wanted to.
"Yeah… yeah, I do".
"Oh God. You're so falling for him".
"…"
"You are! Geez, Naruto, we have to drink to that! Let's go out and celebrate your newfound love life!" Exclaimed Kiba, standing up and raising his fist in the air.
"I am so not drinking with you tonight! Especially not if I have an interview tomorrow. You want me to puke on some dude?"
"Haven't you done that already?" Naruto narrowed his eyes into slits and stood up as well, coming face to face with Kiba, who started to laugh at Naruto's depends, which only seemed to piss off his friend even more.
"Screw you! I was pissed drunk!"
"Then you tried to hump him", he recalled, still laughing, his hilarity increasing as he remembered what Naruto had done.
"I said I was drunk!"
"He hit you and when you fell you tried to lick his shoes, promising to 'love him forevaaah'".
"Pft. Did not".
"Did too," Kiba chanted, sticking his tongue out. It was about that time Naruto decided to give in.
"Fine!" he admitted. "Can we please work now?"
"Sure." And just like that, Kiba sat back down and took a sheet of paper with some designs, examining it. Naruto sat next to him and waited for the comment.
"Your drawing suck".
"Fuck you, Kiba."
XXXXXXXXXX
He woke up the next morning, only to realize it was actually already the afternoon. He had a monstrous headache and blamed Kiba for it. The moron had convinced him to go out… again.
Dammit.
He vaguely remembered the events that had taken place in the bar, and shook his head.
"Ah… fuck". Standing up, he went in the shower and tried to rub the sleep away, along with the killer headache. The water usually did him some good, and this time wasn't an exception. He shampooed and scrubbed stuff off of his body, not really wanting to know what it could be. When he got out, he felt singularly fresher. He brushed his teeth, took out some Efferalgan from the emergency box and walked back into his room. He chose to put on some nice casual clothes, which consisted of a grey sweater pulled over a white tee shirt, and black jeans. His damp hair dripped on his sweater and he sighed as water infiltrated the soft material of his sweater. He went downstairs and took out a glass from his kitchen, pouring cold water from the tap.
He had installed a filter to avoid paying for plastic bottles. He popped in two medicine pills to help taming his headache and gulped his water all the way down. It felt good, refreshing. The clock on the wall read 1:30pm. He'd have to leave the house soon. The office wasn't far away, so he mostly took his bike to get there, except when it was raining especially hard, which wasn't the case today. Preparing documents and what he'd need to work on after the meeting, Naruto packed it all in his satchel, along with a green apple and a brick of orange juice. Yes, he did like those very much.
Popping his green WESC headphones onto his head, Naruto shuffled thought his iPhone and "Lemon Tree" started to play in his ears. He bobbed his head from side to side and got out of his house. He locked the door with his key and jumped onto his bike, shoving his satchel on his back so it wouldn't get caught on the wires.
The whole ride to the office was peaceful. He couldn't see the sun, but even though the clouds were up high in the sky, the humidity wasn't so bad. The air was as fresh as morning, and the wind was blowing softly on his face, breezing past him.
He liked biking around in his village. He was lucky he didn't live in the capital. His office was located on the far borders of Phnom Penh, and his house was even further out, which made him quite happy, for several reasons. Firstly, the air he breathed was purer than in the city, and nature was present everywhere, and it was quieter. He didn't think he could live in a city, where green was an option. He felt connect to nature in some ways. He felt like he had a duty to protect the planet, or at least do his best to limit the damage. He had the means to be green, and it wasn't going to be the workers who lived in miserable condition here who would try to improve the Earth's lungs. Someone had to, though, and he could participate. So he did.
He sometimes had to drive to Phnom Penh when an important meeting was required, but otherwise he stayed around the village. He liked his Cambodian neighbours; he enjoyed his life out here, and wouldn't trade it for the world. Everyone in the village knew him and what he had done for the community (namely, create a decent small building for all the workers who lived in terrible conditions, where there was running water and electricity provided at all time. He couldn't guarantee hot water, but he could assure a roof. He had had to insist for weeks to get the approbation from his boss but Naruto wasn't one to back up on a project he knew could benefit the poor), and they all respected him, just like he did.
He passed the gate of his office and parked his bike on the right side. He left it there, unchained, knowing it would still be here when he'd come back -the place was perfectly safe – and walked into the building.
He was almost immediately greeted by the secretary and returned the "hello", flashing his flirtatious smile. She smiled back courteously and rolled her eyes, apparently unaffected by his charm (which was probably the case) after working together for so long. She knew he was joking, just like he knew she was engaged. There was nothing scandalous going on there. Just friendship.
Naruto came up to her and rested his elbows on the counter behind which she was hidden.
"Your, um, interviewer is here", she mentioned.
"Already?" he checked his watch and frowned. "But he's half an hour earlier than expected!" he quietly exclaimed.
"You know these guys, always trying to get ahead of time… Workaholics", she muttered darkly. "He's handsome though. You'd like him."
"I would?" demanded Naruto, eyebrows disappearing into his hair with interest. His blue eyes glimmered with amusement.
"Definitely".
"That should be interesting. I think I'll go and see for myself, then", he said, winking at Sakura. The woman shook her head and smiled.
"You might want to get those leaves out of your hair, first, Mother Nature."
"Why, don't I look hot?"
"You do. Now come here." She grabbed his jacket and shoved him halfway across the counter with a great force. He was bent over the counter with the edge pressing into his back.
"What the hell, Sakura, that hurts!" She ignored him so he whined louder. "Sakuraaaaa, my back hurts! You're cutting me in half! The stupid counter is going to rip me in two!"
"Shut up, Bambi, if you stop moving I'll be done faster!" Naruto groaned in pain and immobilized himself, trying to breathe correctly.
"Am I interrupting something?"
Naruto froze in place.
He knew that voice.
Sakura suddenly let go of him and he fell down in front of the counter like a bag of dead potatoes, surprised to meet the floor.
"Aouch." He rubbed his upper back and winced. "Well, that was delicate."
"I couldn't agree more. You were so gracious". A hand extended towards his face and Naruto took it gratefully. Sasuke lifted him back up slowly and graced Naruto with a smile.
"Fancy meeting you here." The taller man said, squeezing the tanned hand softly before letting go. Naruto stood there, wide-eyed, as limp as an asparagus. "I thought you'd have more conversation", commented Sasuke, patiently waiting for a reaction.
Naruto didn't move an inch, staring at Sasuke like a deer caught in the headlights. Sasuke was there. What was he doing here? What should he do? Had he followed him here? Had Kiba given Sasuke his working address? Of course not. That was impossible, they hadn't been together alone at all. He opened his mouth and closed it again. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?"
"You're here", he finally babbled.
"I am", condescended Sasuke, looking at him like an idiot. He knew he had to get his shit together, and Sakura's slap at the back of his head did just that.
" What are you even doing here?" he interrogated, bemused.
"I'm going to interview you. Whenever you find your brain", announced Sasuke naturally. "I have all the time in the world", he added after a long silence when Naruto didn't budge. He waited some more, then elaborated -when it appeared clear that Naruto was not going to move right now- "I am a reporter, remember? And I did tell you I was going to see you soon. When I met you yesterday I had no idea who you were. But then you said your name, and it trigged something. I was pretty sure I had seen it somewhere, and I learnt you were a designer and yeah. I remembered", he explained.
"Ah", opined Naruto.
"You guys know each other?" Naruto turned to Sakura and seemed to reassemble all the brain cells he owned.
"Yeah. Sort of. We met yesterday."
"Great. Then it's going to be easier. Now how about you get down to business, Naruto? You have stuff to get done", she ordered, as though she was the boss of him. Which she wasn't. But Naruto didn't look like it bothered him.
"I'm sorry, I thought I was… anyway", he headed toward his office, which still had the door open from when Sasuke had exited the door. "You comin'?" he intimated, not turning back, knowing Sasuke would follow suit.
XXXXXXXXXX
"I was kidding, for God's sake! Will you stop whining and concentrate?"
"But you didn't tell me! I was thinking we would never see each other again!"
"I told you we were going to see each other soon, you moron."
"I thought you were joking, asshole!"
"What is your point, Naruto?"
"My point is tha… Huh…" Naruto emphasised his point by aping out. "You know!"
"Truly, I don't. But if you're done, you might want to pass me the pop corn and shut the hell up", interjected Sasuke, extending his hand to receive the food.
"Fine", he pouted back, passing the bowl anyway.
"Good."
"You're an ass."
"Naruto?"
"Hm?"
"Shut up".
"Yeah, yeah…" Naruto stopped talking nonetheless, trying to concentrate on the movie. It was a hard task though.
After the very professional interview, Sasuke had asked Naruto if he wanted to meet him at his place in the evening to watch a movie. The smaller man had hesitated only for a second before nodding, earning himself a satisfied smirk.
By the time he had come home, a paper indicated Sasuke's address in his left pocket, Naruto had been stressing out. Why? Because the last time he had had a date was four years ago. He did flirt and hook up now and then since his breakup, but nothing serious had followed; until today. Was it even serious?
Jesus.
He had gone into his bathroom and undressed himself, stepping into the shower. He'd needed to breathe. All was fine. Sasuke wasn't anything like Kiba.
Thinking about Kiba that way had made him make a face. Ugh. How had that even happened? He remembered their relationship. The whole thing has lasted three months (could he even say it was a long-term relationship? Dear God, and that was the longest he'd had). After that, Kiba had decided that in fact, women were more his thing than men. Which had obviously led to awkwardness between both of them for a while. Naruto didn't really know how it had disappeared. One day they weren't talking, and a few months after they were best friends. It felt weird to think about it that way, but since it was basically what had happen… Oh well. No need to dwell on the past, right?
Naruto had spent about ten minutes picking out the clothes he'd wear (he usually took only about 30 seconds) and was still feeling frustrated. He was good looking, he was a nice guy, why the fuck should he stress so much?
The moment he'd stepped on Sasuke's porch, Naruto had felt like he had been transported back into high school, the sweaty palms, the constant wondering if his shirt was tucked in properly and such. As soon as Sasuke opened the door though, it had all vanished.
It had felt right.
They had had a nice Cambodian dinner and had talked about stuff; they had touched a little bit of everything about different subjects, and were now in the process of watching Zero Dark Thirty.
Well, Sasuke didn't seem to be all that bothered by the current situation, but Naruto kept fidgeting.
He felt weird.
He was… happy to be hanging out with Sasuke, yet he was uncomfortable. Maybe because Sasuke still had not apologized for what he had done.
It shouldn't matter, but it did. He felt… betrayed? Not betrayed, but cheated. He hated whenever he felt powerless about something. And yet it had happened. Sasuke had made it happen. And it made him upset. Not having control over a situation usually did that to him. He had had some experiences in his life that had caused him to try and be able to handle any situation. Yet Sasuke had played him. Sure, it wasn't something that Sasuke could've known ahead of time, and Naruto wasn't supposed to react this way, after all, the man had meant it to be a joke, but it still hurt him. He wanted not to care, though he knew, if something was to happen with Sasuke, he'd have to tell him how he felt about being lied to. Well, not exactly lied to, but not being told he knew who Naruto was.
Sasuke must've sensed the tension, because he suddenly paused the movie and turned his attention to Naruto.
"What's going on?" he asked softly.
"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."
"I can practically see the neurons burning your brain. And you can't keep still. Well, I'd say it's normal, but you seem preoccupied. Want to share what's going on?" his hand rose to Naruto's neck and played with the hair he found here. Without even realizing it, Naruto moved into the gesture and closed his eyes, sighing.
How could he feel so relaxed and so frustrated at the same time?
Sasuke got closer and his other hand reached the firm jaw line, stroking it slowly. He moved his face closer to Naruto's, stopping midway, observing him. Naruto could feel Sasuke's breath on his neck and he shivered, goose bumps showing up on his arms. Sasuke took that as an invitation to reach forward and burrow his head in Naruto's neck. He stroked the other man's soft skin with his nose, then put his mouth on the tan skin, letting his lips linger there for a while. He felt Naruto's breathing catch as soon as his face disappeared in his neck, and he heard his exhale loudly when Sasuke's lips touched him.
Maybe now was a good time to tell him he was into men?
Then again, Sasuke had this vibe going on, this way of dressing himself in a way that could only suggest he was gay, or bi, or open to any suggestion. And he believed himself had that same aura. Sasuke probably knew. Otherwise he wouldn't have his face in his neck, right?
"Jesus!" he exclaimed as Sasuke suddenly sucked on his neck, nibbling the skin he found there and kissing it. It felt so good!
"Still don't want to tell me what's up?" he murmured against his skin, lips brushing his neck with every word he said.
"… You lied to me," he mumbled in a quiet sigh, trying to sound annoyed and failing miserably, sounding more disappointed than angry. The kisses stopped for a second before Sasuke whispered on his skin:
"Are you mad?" The hand stroking Naruto's jaw fell and gripped his hip, dragging him slowly toward Sasuke's body. Sasuke was on his knees on the couch, supporting his weight all the while guiding Naruto his way. The other man breathed loudly, letting Sasuke do his thing but not answering to it, struggling to stay collected.
"You should've told me", he said quietly as Sasuke straddled him, twisting the blond hair in his grip to turn his head on the side, allowing him more access to the tan column of his neck. Naruto felt a ghost of lips and a warm breath along his skin, making him breathless. His groin was only inches from Sasuke's, who was seated on his lap, thigh pressing his legs together, squeezing him.
Sasuke raised himself from Naruto's lap and bent down to grip the blond's skin between his teeth, at the back of his neck, beneath his hair. The reaction was immediate. Naruto let out a really loud moan as he closed his eyes and raised his hips up, meeting Sasuke's groin.
"Ah." They both groaned at the same time and Sasuke sat back down, directly on Naruto's groin, thrusting slowly while looking in the blue eyes, which hazed with the movement.
Sasuke moved his lips to Naruto's jaw, nibbling at it.
"I'm so…" he touched his lips to Naruto's temple and dropped back on his straight nose, caressing it up and down, "…very…" he kissed the corner of his lips and nipped at his neck, "…sorry", he breathed out, attacking Naruto's neck again.
Naruto snapped.
He reached for the sides of Sasuke's face and brought him up level with his face.
"Is it a bad time to tell you I'm going to kiss you?" he murmured, reaching for Sasuke's face, edging it towards him. The other man let himself being dragged to Naruto's face and sucked in a breath. "I thought you'd never-" he was cut when Naruto's lips touched his.
A sudden fire rose in his chest and his hands grabbed at Naruto's clothes, pushing and pulling, as the kiss grew wild. Without stopping the kiss, Sasuke opened his mouth to breath at the same time as Naruto, lips still touching, noses brushing against another. They shared a look and attacked again, melting against each other, tongue touching and lips nibbling. How he had managed to live this long without that much passion, Naruto would never know. He felt like his head was a big bubble of pleasure; his chest was constricted with restrain as he tried not to rape the man in front of him. His limbs were shaking badly, and he when Sasuke gently took his shin between his teeth and scraped all the way down to his collarbone, Naruto groaned. He had no idea those places could even be that sensitive, and yet here he was, panting heavily as Sasuke sent him to a new level of lust with each thrust.
Naruto gripped the sides of Sasuke's shirt and pulled it up above his head, throwing it somewhere in the room. He took his time to admire the pale chest, and rested his forehead on Sasuke's, looking down as he ran his hands on his side, tickling him. Sasuke bite his lips and watched in fascination as Naruto's hands played a symphony only he had the partition to on his abs and sides. The tan hand reached up to tweak a nipple and Sasuke sucked in his breath, which caused his head to move and lips to meet with his partner's.
"Aah…" he moaned again, burying his face in Sasuke's neck, kissing his neck, shoulder and chest. The skin was a little sweaty and warm, and it turned Naruto on, even more so than he already was.
"Well, this seems promising", jokingly murmured Sasuke.
And, as a smile spread on his face, Naruto just couldn't agree more. Maybe Murphy's law had, in fact, benefited him.