Title: Second Chances
Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort
Rating: M
Summary: Every night he promised himself that he would say no and that he wouldn't crawl back into that bed. Every night he broke that promise. SasuNaru. AU. Oneshot
Character(s): Naruto U./Sasuke U.
Warning(s): Yaoi (boy x boy), AU, language, OOC, and suggestions. No citrus here. Sorry :(
Pairing(s): SasuNaru
IMPORTANT: This oneshot is based off of a song by The Cab: "Temporary Bliss." This is in no way a songfic. Just inspired by a song.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters
Naruto sighed as he stared at the sleeping body of a man he once knew...of a man who once cared and loved. Now the blond wasn't so sure. Every night he promised himself that he would say no and that he wouldn't crawl back into that bed. Every night he broke that promise.
He pulled his jacket off and set in on the chair that leaned against the pale wall. Next came the shoes, the shirt, and the pants, respectively. He sighed once more, wondering why he was doing this - why he was torturing himself. He knew he should have left long ago when the raven was first acting this way; when he started acting as if Naruto was nothing more than a toy to play with, and once he was done, he was free to throw it away or leave it for another child to play with.
It wasn't fair. He wanted more; he wanted his old life and his old love back.
He wanted Sasuke back. Not the one he had now - the one that didn't listen at all when he spoke or didn't even touch him without wanting something more. No, he wanted the one that actually cared about him. The one that would cook his favorite food (ramen) after he had a bad day at work; the one that would hold his hand innocently without molesting him. He wanted that Sasuke back.
The blond continued to stare at the body under the sheets as he stood in the middle of their dark bedroom in nothing more than his undergarments, salt water forming at the corners of his eyes. Should he? Should he really do this again? What was to gain from meaningless touches and gestures?
The tiredness took over his body and he slumped forward, giving up all personal wars and debates. He let his body fall and he collapsed onto the bed, his face hitting the pillow harshly and his limbs in a tangled mess.
The body beside him stirred and the man groaned, turning to face the blond. "You're home."
"Yeah," he responded monotonously. "Tired." He hoped that one word would send a strong enough hint that sex was not something he was willing to put up with tonight.
That hint was apparently too subtle for the Uchiha to grasp. His arms wrapped around the smaller body tightly as pale lips kissed and sucked the strong, tan neck. "I can help with that," he whispered. He nipped at the heated flesh and sucked harshly, leaving a angry red mark behind that soon turned black and blue.
Naruto suppressed a shudder and pushed away. "No," he said. His voice was hoarse with the sudden eroticness of it all.
The raven pulled away, offended, and looked straight into the blond's blue eyes. "What do you mean 'no'?"
Naruto took a deep breath and declared, "No. I'm not doing this. I can't just lay here while you fuck me. There are no feelings involved on your part and I'm not going to do that; I'm not going to be some toy that you can toss to the side when you find something newer and better." He swallowed nervously and turned to glare at the stunned Uchiha. "You used to actually care about things - about me. We didn't used to just fuck - we had something at least somewhat meaningful. Now I've become nothing to you and I don't want to be a part of it."
He studied the other's face tentatively, gauging any emotions that flicked across the raven's face. So far he'd expressed surprise and anger, but his features stuck with confusion. His eyebrows came together and his head cocked to the side slightly; Naruto could practically see the cogs in the other's head turning slowly, trying to piece together the information he'd just been given. Finally, Sasuke said, "You're not just a meaningless fuck to me."
The blond scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Practically everything about you screams 'Meaningless Fuck.' Whatever happened to you giving a damn, huh, teme?" he asked. The rage was building up and everything he'd thought and felt for the past few months poured out uncontrollably. "We've been together for six years now, Sasuke. The first five years were perfect; our lives were practically a fairy tale. But after those two years, you gradually became more sex-oriented, like all I was was some sex slave. You never tell me you love me unless I force it out of you; you never do any of the things you used to. You've become some sort of machine. You go to work, you come home, you fuck me, you go to bed - that's how it's been these past few months.
"And not only that, but I know that you've been talking to Sai behind my back, too. Sai for Christ's sake. How do I know you're not sleeping around with him, too? How many people are you fuckin' now, Sasuke?" And suddenly it stopped. Not just the rant or the rage, but time, too; everything seemed to freeze in its tracks.
Sasuke stared incredulously at the blond. "None of that is true," he denied softly. But is it? Is it true? he thought sadly. Have I been using him?
Blue eyes narrowed as more emotions flicked across the raven's face: denial, more anger, more confusion, realization, and regret - pure, unadulterated regret. "I-I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't...I mean -"
"Just save it." Naruto stood and pulled open the closet door. He grabbed a duffel bag and filled it with various clothes and some extra money that'd been lying on the bedside table. He pulled on a t-shirt and old jeans and left the apartment without another word, leaving behind a gaping, stunned Uchiha.
The next time the two had run into each other was about two weeks later in the coffee shop where they'd first met. They'd both been high school Juniors then, and they'd fallen in love nearly instantaneously.
"Watch where you're going, teme!" the blond huffed, glaring at the god that had appeared before him.
"Tch. Watch where you're going next time, dobe," the Uchiha retaliated.
After that, the blond had demanded that Sasuke buy him a drink for causing him trouble, and after much pestering, the Uchiha finally agreed, claiming that it was only to get Naruto out of his face and out of his life.
But that wasn't the end. The two ended up talking for hours like they'd been best friends since preschool; they talked about nothing and everything at the same time. Naruto talked about how he grew up with his guardian Iruka after his parents died in some sort of tragic accident not long after he was born. Sasuke was much less open about his personal life, but he shared the fact that he, too, was orphaned by a tragic accident. They'd met at noon and they finally parted ways at 9 in the evening when the shop was closing.
After being ushered out of the shop, they had shook hands and promised to see each other again next weekend; however, they spoke much sooner than that. They'd swapped numbers and texted constantly; they stayed up far after midnight talking on the phone about anything that had happened that day or earlier in their lives. They were almost attached at the hip.
After talking for weeks, the two had finally realized that they belonged to the same school and the same grade, but they'd never seen each other before. That just brought them closer. They'd meet up during lunch and study breaks in the library and sometimes in the janitor's closets. And before they knew it, Sasuke was outside his window one night (September 22) asking for his love. Naruto said yes and their relationship went swimmingly for years with barely any major fights.
Until now.
Sasuke took a deep, shaky breath as he reached for his large cup of coffee - it'd been days since he'd slept and he couldn't take the chance of falling asleep at the wheel. When he turned to find a table to sit and read, he ran straight into a moron that thought standing right behind someone was a good idea. "Hey! Watch where you're -" All thought and speech stopped as Sasuke realized the moron he was yelling to was the one who'd left him weeks ago. "N-Naruto," he stuttered. "What are you doing here?"
The whiskered face didn't give away a single emotion. "Getting coffee. What else would I be doing here?" he asked. He reached around the Uchiha as his name was called and the cup placed on the counter. "Well, it was nice to see you again, but I -"
"No!" Naruto blinked at the sudden exclamation. "I mean...don't go. Please. I just...I want to talk to you," Sasuke pleaded. The blond assessed the man before him and it certainly wasn't one that he'd seen before. There were dark circles under his dark, slightly bloodshot eyes and his face seemed to sag; there was no usual smirk on his face. He nodded and the other man seemed happy beyond belief - he'd almost smiled.
They sat at the exact table they'd sat at years ago when they first met. "So...what do you want to say?"
Naruto started.
Sasuke took a deep breath before launching into the longest speech he'd ever given in his life. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I know that you have every right not to accept my apology and you don't have to. I have no right to ask you to be with me again but I can't help it. I haven't slept in days and you're all that's on my mind. I took you and what we had for granted. Everyone says that I'm a genius but I'm completely useless when it comes to the emotions or wants of others. I'm sorry for everything I put you through and for making you think I don't care. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me and I don't want to lose that. I know that you probably hate me and never want to see me again...but I promise you with my life that I'll never act that way again. And I -"
"Sasuke."
During his speech, he'd been staring at the white spotted table like it was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen; but when Naruto called his name, his head snapped up with ridiculous hope that the object of his love would say that everything was alright.
Naruto sighed before smiling slightly at the raven. "I must say that I'm impressed with your lung capacity; I never knew you could talk for so long without taking a breath." Sasuke blinked at the blond in anticipation. Naruto took another deep breath before continuing. "I love you, Sasuke; you know I do. But...I can't do that again. You think that it wont happen again, but it will," he said sadly.
Sasuke's eyes widened and he fought back tears - Uchihas don't cry (except that he'd been doing just that since the day his love walked out the front door). "It won't! I promise it wont."
The blond watched with sad eyes as a defeated look spread itself across the Uchiha's face, dominating all his features and voice. "I understand," he said softly.
Sasuke got up to leave when Naruto reached out and snagged the raven's sweatshirt tightly, pulling him back down to their booth. "I..." He wasn't sure what to say. He had a feeling he was going to regret this, but... "Sasuke...I want to start over." A look of pure happiness spread across his face as he stared disbelievingly at the blond. "But I promise I won't come back next time something like this happens, no matter how much you plead."
Sasuke nodded, still in shock. The blond stuck his hand out and smiled brightly. "Hi, my name is Naruto Uzumaki!"
The raven smirked at the familiar gesture. "Sasuke Uchiha."
"Nice to meet ya, teme."
And Naruto never regretted his answer.
2 years later...
Naruto hiccuped as he stumbled through the door, clutching Sasuke's arm to steady himself. "That was - hic - fun, teme! We need to go out more often!" Sasuke chuckled softly as he guided Naruto to the couch and plopped him down. "I know that you were looking forward to it being just us for our anniversary, teme, but this was fun, too, right? You had fun with our friends, didn't ya, teme?"
The raven sat down next to his dobe, wrapping an arm around the other's shoulders and Naruto leaned against him. "Yeah, I guess so, dobe."
Naruto hiccuped again and looked up at Sasuke with a mischievous look. "You look pretty - hic - good tonight, teme," he flirted. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow as the blond shifted below him, moving to straddle Sasuke's waist. "When we were down at the bar I just wanted to jump you right - hic - there."
Sasuke rolled his eyes as the blond attacked his neck. "As totally sexy as it would be to have you drunkenly calling out my name, I think we should skip it for tonight; you're completely wasted."
Naruto shook his head into the crook of the Uchiha's neck and bit the juncture there harshly. "No. I want you now."
Well, I tried, Sasuke thought as he moaned. "Alright, moron, but if you get pissed at me tomorrow, then it's not my fault," he muttered before gripping the blond's thighs and marching them both up the stairs.
After slamming into a few walls and door frames, they finally reached their bedroom. Sasuke slammed open the door and threw Naruto onto the bed, quickly following suit. He attached himself to Naruto's plump lips and ground into the boy below him, extracting a high-pitched mewl. He quickly tore off his lover's clothes and attached his lips to every inch of skin he could reach.
And every time he and Naruto were about to make love (or something much more extreme), he couldn't help but be grateful to that one day two years ago in the coffee shop when Naruto had given him a second chance.
And there you have it: my newest oneshot.
I apologize for having them both (mostly Sasuke) so out of character, but it had to be done...mostly because I wanted it to.
Don't forget to review - it gives me joy :)
Tah-tah!