The Restaurant

The Restaurant

Sasuke thought for a moment, watching as Sai picked up his glass of water and took a dainty sip. It was not until the glass was back on the table that Sasuke realized it was Naruto's, not Sai's. Glaring at Sai, Sasuke reached over and moved Naruto's glass as far away from Sai as he could reach. He settled back into his seat, arms crossed over his chest. The anger that was stirring in him was more intense than any he had felt since his fight with Itachi.

Taking a sip from his own glass, he asked, "Do you only steal from Naruto when he's in the bathroom?"

His question went ignored, it seemed, even before he had finished asking. "Naruto doesn't need you anymore," was Sai's quick response.

The intensity of Sasuke's anger flared and a tinge of color spread across his cheeks. Taking a deep breath, he forced his face to remain blank, like Sai's. He bit back his angry retort, opting to keep the conversation civilized for as long as he could. "Obviously he can fend for himself."

Again, his statement was ignored. Sai gave him a blank look. "There was a time when your name was all he ever called out, Sasuke," he said, his voice quiet and smooth—confident.

All the color drained from Sasuke's face. "What-?" Sai cut him off.

"You should have heard it; it was like he worshipped you. The mere tone of his voice could have driven you mad with pleasure," a smirk appeared at the corner of Sai's mouth. "It took me a year to get him to say my name. Sai sounds so much better than Sasuke when he's begging me for more."

Sasuke nearly lunged across the table, knocking all three water glasses over in the process. "Stop saying things like that!" Sasuke yelled, uncaring of the other customers. Sai caught his fist and moved it to the side gently. The second fist aimed at his face was used as leverage to shove Sasuke back into his seat and that pleased smile never left Sai's face. Sasuke's sharingan activated before he was back on his feet. He feigned another punch at Sai's head, pulling the man forward across the table with his other hand. Sai did not retaliate, but let himself be shoved to the floor.

"There's no point denying it," Sai said, smiling even as Sasuke pushed him into the ground.

A warm, tanned arm wrapped around Sasuke's neck from behind, pulling him off of Sai and into a standing position. He could smell Naruto's aftershave and it, almost immediately calmed him. Leaning back against Naruto's broad chest, he could not even muster a glare at Sai, who was struggling to sand up. Naruto hit him lightly on the back of the head. "What the hell, Sasuke?!" Sasuke recognized that tone of voice and winced.

Naruto let go of him and knelt down next to Sai. Sasuke watched as those strong, calloused fingers brushed almost unnoticeably over the small of Sai's back, as they gently pushed hair out of that smirking face. He could not hear what Naruto was saying and he suspected that he was not supposed to. Blood was rushing in his ears, making everything fuzzy.

It was true, Sasuke thought, watching Naruto help Sai to his feet, watching Naruto touch Sai. Everything that Sai had said and implied was true. That was the way that Naruto had touched him, Sasuke, before. That quirked little smile on his mouth used to only appear for Sasuke. Naruto used to belong to him! It had only been four years, and yet-! He wanted to yell at Sai, hit him again, and take Naruto away from him, but all he could do was watch.

"Excuse me, sir," Sasuke turned at the voice, fixing his gaze who he assumed to be the manager of the restaurant, a short, round man, "those dishes that you broke-"

Sasuke reached for his wallet and shoved some money at the man, not caring how much. He felt the sudden urge to be far away, to be away from this stuffy little restaurant and that stuck-up Sai and that good-for-nothing Naruto… His heart stopped when he caught Naruto's gaze, a gaze full of anger and confusion.

"Sasuke!" He did not move. "Oi, Bastard! Get over here and explain yourself!"

He could suddenly hear everything again. It was as if he had been asleep; everyone around was whispering and pointing at him. Sasuke felt the emotions swimming in his head, pushing at his eyes. He swallowed and studied Naruto for a moment but found he could not tear his eyes away from the hand that was discreetly resting on Sai's thigh under the table. Forcing himself to look up at their faces, he finally choked out, "I'm very sorry," before turning and walking out the door of the restaurant as quickly as he could.

The night air was cool on his skin. Sasuke walked slowly down the street in the direction of his apartment. His heart was racing but his body felt numb. He could not rid his mind of Sai's words or of the images of Naruto past and present. It was not until he collapsed inside his door that he noticed the warm tears on his cheeks. "Fuck…"

042008

Blah. I've been writing this for the past few days paragraph by paragraph between studying and sleeping. It was really fun to write this! I have no idea why, tho… yeah. I might write more of these angsty saixnaruxsasu triangle type things (which I find fascinating) later. But … on to the homework!