This is my first multi-chapter fiction... well, duh, because my first fiction was a one-shot, and this is my second fiction, so... anyway- enjoy!
WARNING(s):
---------This is a boy/boy fic, k? so for those that are used to my Nejiten stories, this isn't one of them.
---------Also- when Kiba appears for the first time in this fic, he comes off as a bit of an asshole. Sorry. He gets better. Promise.
DISclaimer: If I owned Naruto for just ONE day, I could die happy.
Sasuke let out an exasperated groan and slammed his hands onto the keyboard, relishing in the discordant noise it made. After playing for eight hours, one might think that the Uchiha musical prodigy would be able to play Ravel's Jeux d'eau by memory (1). However, it seemed that today, Uchiha Sasuke was not interested in playing the piano.
He sighed and pushed away from instrument. Lately, all of the songs his teacher gave him to sight-read over night weren't interesting to him anymore. Perhaps he wasn't fit for the piano, after all. Sasuke stood and ran his fingers gently over the glossy, black lid of his grand piano. Maybe my so called 'genius' was just a stage of my life. The piano just doesn't seem to call to me anymore. He was about to sit back down and try one more time, when a new sound caught his attention.
His apartment complex was built in the shape of a 'U'. This meant that all Sasuke had to do in order to locate the origin of the sound was look out his window, and into the window of the apartment directly across from his. When he looked out, he saw one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen.
It was a violin.
Only acquainted with the piano, Sasuke had never really understood the magic of other instruments. His great-grandfather, grandfather, father and brother all played piano before him, and by the time he was old enough to consciously move each finger individually, Sasuke was playing the piano, too.
They'd said the music called to him in a way that it hadn't for any of his predecessors. Because he could manipulate the keys to make music more beautiful than his brother's, they called him a genius. It took 14 years of musical competition trophies, complements from eight professors of music, and too many hours to count practicing the piano for Sasuke to realize that the piano had never called out to him.
Sasuke watched as the sun gleamed off the brown tuning pegs of the instrument, following the light as it traveled down the strings, past long, tan fingers, all the way down to where it glinted off the small, brass tuning knob on the 'A' string. His eyes continued past the brass knob and up to... the sky? No, it was an eye, bluer than the ocean, its twin closed in concentration. He then decided to stop staring at the instrument in favor of the musician.
As Sasuke stared at the creator of the music, his mind decided it needed a vacation. It's the music god! His mind yelled, frantically waving its mental arms through the air. Blinking furiously, Sasuke reigned in his thoughts. The man with the violin was one of the most attractive men Sasuke had ever seen.
Sasuke was gay. He'd known ever since middle school; after rejecting Valentine's Day chocolates from the most popular girl at school, she'd thrown the offending chocolates at him and told him that rejecting chocolates from her made him gay. This instigated rumors and questions about Sasuke's sexual attractions, but after that fateful Valentine's Day, one thing was certain- Uchiha Sasuke was not into girls.
It was cliché, he knew, but Sasuke was positive that if he hadn't been gay before the violin man, seeing the violin man would have made him a flaming homosexual. As it were, the sight combination of both the music god and the instrument of the gods was enough to give Sasuke one of the most painful boners of his life. He winced and looked down at his growing problem, and then looked at his piano.
"Sorry, but I think it might be time to end our long relationship." Sasuke said to his piano before rushing to the bathroom.
It was whilst masturbating when Sasuke did his best thinking. As he worked himself in the bathroom, Sasuke debated his options. Of them, there were quite a few bad ones. Out of the bad options, this was the worst; ignore the call of the violin music. He knew that if he tried to go back to playing the piano, he could quite possibly become insane; especially with the glorious instrument playing in the apartment directly across from his.
The second option wasn't much better: abandon the piano and learn to play the violin instead. First of all, his father would disown him. He could deal with that consequence, for, as far as he was concerned, his father could take his piano and stuff it where the sun don't shine.
However, he couldn't just walk away from half his life. Playing piano was all he had. School was important, but it was also easy, and he breezed past elementary school and middle school in the top of his class. Piano was the first thing that ever gave him satisfaction; he'd worked hard to be the best and refused to let piano go.
Sasuke decided that he was going to learn how to play the violin, and get a date with the violin music god. It was only appropriate, he mused, for the one to get the instrument before meeting the instrument god. His plan; get a violin and get the violin god to teach him how to play it.
This plan would both get him close to the violin god, and allow him to play the violin. win-win.
Once he'd finished, Sasuke went back to the window. The man with the violin was gone, and Sasuke felt a pang of sorrow pierce his belly. It didn't matter, he decided, because he was going to be seeing them again, really soon. In person.
First things first, he thought as he grabbed his keys from the piano bench and headed out the door, I am going to need to purchase a violin.
~*~
It wasn't easy, he discovered, to find a violin in the city. All of the stores he walked into only sold guitars and banjos, and one old man even tried to sell him a tambourine. However, Uchiha Sasuke was a man with a mission. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and opened the Internet. After typing in the search keyword 'violin stores' into the search engine, he found the address of a small establishment located just outside the city.
He imputed the address into the GPS in his car, but ended up following his instincts to the location instead of the robotic voice of the GPS. The drive was longer than he anticipated, and for a moment, Sasuke thought he'd missed it, but minutes later found himself pulling into a a parking lot. He parked next to a large red pick-up and got out of his car.
It wasn't so much a parking lot as a few faded yellow lines drawn onto the pavement by a thick piece of yellow chalk, Sasuke observed. The store itself wasn't too impressive either- faded red brick walls and a green door with copper bells, hanging from the knob. The most striking things about the building were the two glass windows on each side of the door.
They were meticulously cleaned, and through them Sasuke could see the display of instruments. The window display was obviously still set up for the winter holidays. White angels and snowflakes dusted with glitter hung above the trumpet, and large silver globes hung above a cello. But Sasuke only had eyes for the two honey colored violins that were displayed nestled together in a bed of cotton arranged to look like snow.
He cautiously opened the door, suddenly unsure of himself, and almost ran into the man that was coming out. This, he mused, must be the owner of the truck...
"Watch where you're going!" The other man cried, dropping the things he had in his arms. Sasuke opened his mouth, appalled.
"Hn. It was obviously your fault." He replied, "idiot."
"I am not an idiot, bastard. I am a musician." Sasuke scoffed at this, and bent to help the other man pick up the things on the floor. He collected a small block of rosin, two thin square packets and was reaching for a third when it was snatched up by its owner.
Sasuke looked up, and surprise, surprise, it was the music god, in all his golden glory, sitting on the ground next to Sasuke. The god held out his hands to recollect his belongings from Sasuke. Sasuke slowly handed them back, trying to control his thoughts.
"Hey, are you okay?" the music god asked looking at Sasuke with worry.
I'm meeting the music god in person, and you're asking me if I'm okay? Sasuke's brain shouted, I'm better than okay! But what came out of Sasuke's mouth was:
"Hn."
The music god rolled his eyes and stood, reaching out to help Sasuke off the floor.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the best violinist in the entire world!" He exclaimed, "And judging by your attitude and your looks, I'd guess that you are Uchiha Sasuke, the pianist from our apartment complex." Sasuke nodded slowly. It seemed like his plan might work out better than he could've guessed.
"Yes, I play the piano, but I was actually thinking about learning the violin instead. I heard violin music, and it just seemed like the music called to me, more so than the music from the piano. All music calls out to me, but it seems like the violin music catches my attention." Sasuke replied, managing to sound proud even though he was admitting that his piano wasn't as good as the violin. Naruto hummed in the back of his throat.
"Really? If you want, I can teach you. I need the money right now, and since you're loaded, I can charge you more than I would for anyone else." Apparently, Naruto was a blunt guy.
"Idiot. There is no way you can teach me violin." Sasuke snapped annoyed.
He wasn't really getting any money from his father right now; Itachi was on a world tour playing the piano so most of the money was directed towards the travel fees. And, due to a past incident, Sasuke's father hadn't been giving Sasuke very much money in the first place.
To make up for the difference, Sasuke had taken on two jobs and was working most of the time (2). His only reprieve was on the weekends where he didn't work at all and concentrated on his piano. He was not interested in paying more than he had to, even if it was for the sake of his musical sanity.
On the other hand it seemed as though his plan was progressing quicker than he'd imagined. Which was a good thing. It seemed as though someone out there liked him, and the violinist was practically handing himself to Sasuke on a golden platter.
"I can to teach violin. How about this. First lesson's free, and then you can decide if you're really able to tackle a difficult instrument as the violin. And if you chose to take lessons from me, I get to charge you whatever I want."
"Fine." Sasuke said. "When shall we start?"
"Since you're here, I'm assuming you don't own a violin yet. I'll help you find one that is high quality, but not too pricey so you're cheap, though rich, Asian ass can afford it." Naruto stuck his belongings into the pockets of his large cargo pants. Sasuke had been too busy gawking at the music god's face that he didn't notice the god's body. Though clothed in a rather hideous shade of orange, Sasuke could tell that Naruto was well built and not at all fat. God he may be, with both the face and the body from the heavens, but his taste in clothing was terrible.
Sasuke followed Naruto to the back of the store where Sasuke found himself faced with rows and rows of violins hanging on the walls. Of course there were other instruments propped up on their stands, but the Sasuke didn't care. He was focused on the instrument of the gods, only.
Naruto pulled a violin off the rack and held it out towards Sasuke.
"I'm guessing that you've never held a violin before; the awe in which you behold the instrument of the gods is impressive, but it is obvious that you know absolutely nothing about this instrument. And if you don't want me to know that you refer to the violin as the instrument of the gods, you shouldn't say it out loud."
Sasuke grimaced and reached out to take the violin from Naruto's hands. God, he could've sworn he heard a chorus of angels.
"I think I like it. But," he growled, "If it is extremely expensive, I will kill you."
"We wouldn't want that." Naruto said cheerfully taking the violin back and placing it in a velvet lined case. He zipped the violin up and handed it to Sasuke. "It's one of the cheapest high quality violins we have. About 900 American dollars, but you can arrange the payment in thirty dollar a week increments, and for the first three weeks, you have the option of returning it for either a different one or because you decided you don't want a violin anymore and get a thirty percent refund."
"Hn." Sasuke replied, thinking hard about the purchase. He knew it was expensive, but he also knew that even with his current budget he could easily afford a violin. "I'll suppose I'll buy it."
After signing all the necessary papers, Sasuke was walking out the door with his brand new violin and Naruto at his side.
"Hey, I know. Let's go out! To celebrate both your excellent purchase, and all the money you'll give me!" Naruto cried out, pumping a fist in the air.
"Fine. But you get to pay." Sasuke snorted at Naruto's puppy dog face. "If I'm going to pay an inordinate amount of money for your violin lessons, then you get to pay for my food." Naruto glared, but agreed.
"Fine, but if I pay, I chose the restaurant."
In the end, it didn't matter that Naruto paid. The cost of Sasuke's one bowl of miso ramen hardly made a dent in Naruto's wallet in comparison to the eight bowls Naruto consumed. It was obvious that the owners of Ichiraku got most of their income from Naruto's apatite. Sasuke couldn't bring himself to feel disgusted; Naruto was gorgeous even whole shoveling noodles down his throat, and besides, it was obvious that Naruto was very intelligent.
Between bites, Naruto and Sasuke discussed different musicians and the styles played in all of the different periods of music. Naruto introduced Sasuke to a whole new world of violin musicians, and seemed to understand everything Sasuke said about piano artists. To anyone else, the conversation might have been boring. Sasuke decided that he was in love.
All in all, Sasuke thought as he drove home, it has been a good day. He looked back to check on his violin in the back seat. He and Naruto agreed to meet on Sunday at Naruto's apartment for his first lesson. Sunday was three days away. Sasuke grimaced as he thought about the wait. He had work again early in the morning.
The good thing about his new jobs was that he worked at them on different days from each other. The only day that he had to go to both was Tuesday. His hours were short, but he was paid by commission. It was rather boring, and truthfully, if someone asked him what he did at his jobs he could honestly reply, "nothing."
~*~
Sunday came surprisingly quickly, and Sasuke stood before Naruto's apartment, his hand raised to knock on the door. Before he had a chance to knock, the door was flung open.
"Come in!" Naruto cried, waving his arms about.
"Idiot." Sasuke replied as he entered the apartment. He looked around. It looked like his, only backwards and without the grand piano sitting in the middle of the living room. Though Naruto's apartment wasn't dirty, it wasn't neat either. Sasuke stepped over wrinkled clothes and scattered shoes. Sheet music was absolutely everywhere.
"So, what do I learn first?" Sasuke asked as he followed Naruto over to a part of the living room where a music stand was set up next to an old upright piano. Sasuke put his violin on the bench of the piano, and Naruto popped the lid of the case and drew the violin from the case to demonstrate to Sasuke what he was going to do.
"First, let's give you some lessons on how to tune your violin. Without popping the strings." Naruto said. "I was at the shop yesterday because I broke my G string. And they were having a sale, so I also bought an E string and a D string." He proudly held up two of the little square packets.
"I'm learning how to tune a violin from a guy that popped a string while tuning." Sasuke said incredulously.
"Shut up bastard. It broke because it was old and unraveling. Anyway, in the beginning you're gonna want to only use the little brass knobs..."
"Oh..." Sasuke said slowly. He was losing interest in learning how to play the violin, and was becoming more and more interested in jumping his violin teacher. He stepped toward Naruto. "What do I do then?"
He felt Naruto stiffen slightly as he stepped closer to the other man.
"Sasuke, I have an important question to ask you." Naruto stepped back and placed the violin on the top of the upright. Sasuke blinked at the seriousness in Naruto's tone.
"Hn?"
"Do you even want to play the violin, or are you just trying to get into my pants? Because that's happened to me on several occasions, and if that is the case, then I don't think I can teach you anymore."
"Of course that isn't the reason." Sasuke snapped angrily. "I heard the violin, and you happened to be playing it. Besides, you're the one that offered to teach me."
Naruto glared. "I know."
The two men stood exchanging glares when suddenly the doorbell rang.
"I'd better go get that." Naruto turned as if to walk around Sasuke, but tripped over a shoe conveniently placed before him. With a strangled yell, he fell forward, knocking them both to the ground.
Sasuke felt his breath catch Naruto's sun-kissed face hovered above him. Naruto's knees were on either side of Sasuke's thighs, one hand on Sasuke's chest and the other on the ground above Sasuke's head.
The two men stayed in that position for a period of time that seemed to last way too long and not long enough simultaneously, their breaths mingling in the warm air between them. Naruto slowly leaned forward but the forgotten doorbell again rang loudly, once, twice, three times.
As if struggling from a stupor, Naruto stood and walked out to open the door, leaving Sasuke on the ground. Sasuke heard him open the door.
"Happy birthday!" Sasuke shot up as he heard a familiar voice coming into Naruto's apartment. It wasn't…?
"Kiba, it isn't my birthday." Naruto sighed. Sasuke bit his lip.
Kiba and Sasuke had… history.
Beginning as friends, Kiba and Sasuke hung out all the time. Sasuke learned to deal with Kiba's wild antics, and Kiba enjoyed trying to provoke a reaction out of the stoic Uchiha. As they grew older, they grew closer. Kiba developed feelings for Sasuke, and Sasuke went along with those feelings.
They'd dated from middle school after the Valentine's Day incident to the end of high school. However, it had been a rocky relationship. Kiba was an exhibitionist, and had gotten Sasuke into some awkward situations. Sasuke had been fired from several jobs because his boss caught him and Kiba "fooling around" on company property. Then, Sasuke almost got arrested on one occasion because of indecent exposure in public. It had gotten so bad that Sasuke finally tried to break off the relationship.
It also didn't help that Sasuke caught Kiba with other people, both girls and guys.
Kiba hadn't wanted it to end and tried multiple methods to get Sasuke back. Finally, Sasuke moved away to avoid the other man. That was three years ago, when Sasuke had been eighteen and Kiba had been nineteen. And now it seemed that Kiba was back. And he knew Naruto.
Shit.
"I know, but I was in the neighborhood, and I decided to stop by." Sasuke heard Kiba reply.
"That's a lie. This place is practically in the middle of nowhere; all of this part of town is apartment complexes, and the few stores here are all pretty generic. No reason to come out here to get a Starbucks when there are plenty elsewhere. There is no explanation for anyone to come here other than to visit someone. Why are you really here?"
"To tell the truth, Naruto, I came back to collect something that I lost a while ago. I've been looking for him for two years, and finally found out that he lives in this apartment complex. Anyway, until I can retrieve my belonging, I'm gonna have to crash with you."
Sasuke felt a rush of anger at being called a belonging, but swallowed his fury. It wouldn't do to blow up at his stalker; he was a mature man, not a hormonal teenager. He grabbed his violin and walked out to confront the man.
"Hello Kiba." Naruto looked from Kiba back to Sasuke in shock.
"Sasuke, you know him?"
"Know him? Sasuke and I go way back!" Kiba exclaimed.
"Kiba, I remember telling you that I never wanted to see you again." Sasuke said coldly.
"Yeah, I recall something like that, and I gave you three years to cool off, man! I've missed you." Kiba said. "I've tracked you all over the world! Sasuke, I really love you. I've loved you ever since the tenth grade! You can't tell me that you've forgotten about US."
"I can, and I will if you make me. I left because I didn't want to see you. Leaving me alone for three years is three years too little. If I never see you again, it'll be too soon. Stop hunting me like a fucking bloodhound!!!" Sasuke's voice rose a bit with each word, and by the end of his speech, he was yelling.
Naruto gaped at him. "Sasuke…"
"I'm leaving. Thanks for the violin lesson Naruto." Sasuke swept past Naruto and Kiba, slamming the apartment door behind him.
~*~
Back in his apartment, Sasuke pulled out a suitcase and began piling clothes into it. He didn't give a damn about anything he couldn't fit into the suitcase; moving trucks would call attention to him, and he had plenty of money in a secret, underground account- more than enough to start his life over. Maybe he could join a witness protection program. He snorted at the thought. An Uchiha shouldn't have to stoop that low, and he wasn't a witness anyway.
He opened the door, and almost screamed in shock. In hindsight, he realized that he shouldn't have been shocked. Not really. For standing right outside his door was Kiba.
"Look, all I wanted to do was talk to you. And here you are, running away from me again!" Kiba said, placing a hand on the frame of Sasuke's door to block the exit.
"Kiba, get your bloody arm out of my way or I will break it, goddamn the consequences." Sasuke snarled, "How much does it take for you to realize that I am NOT interested?"
"You know you want me." Kiba leered.
"Yeah, I know I want you to GO AWAY."
"Just give me one more chance." Kiba begged. Sasuke felt like screaming. Why did the gods of fate hate him so much?!
"Fine. Kiba, I'll meet you at 1:00 o'clock tomorrow at the lunch place on 5th. But after than, you have to leave me alone." Sasuke said and slammed the door shut. He cursed his luck again as Kiba managed to pull his fingers out of harms way before the heavy wooden door could crush them.
Sasuke put his suitcase back in the closet and sat on the bed massaging his temples. He'd finally gotten a date with Naruto, and then Kiba showed up. As if his life wasn't complicated enough. All he'd wanted to do was learn to play the violin, and now suddenly the whole world was against him. He briefly wondered if this was divine retribution for trying to quit the piano.
The Uchiha couldn't bear one more minute in the apartment complex. He grabbed his coat and raced out the door, god help any man (aka Kiba) that tried get in Sasuke's way.
He wasn't sure where he was headed, but he wasn't surprised when he ended up at a local bar. He could drink his stupid troubles away and then come up with a hang over so big that he would be physically unable to go have lunch with Kiba tomorrow. All he'd wanted was to learn violin and get a date with Naruto, and now it seemed like he was going to get neither. If Kiba was staying with Naruto it meant that he couldn't get near the sexy violinist until he resolved his issue with Kiba. In the mean while, Kiba had ample time to ruin Sasuke's relationship with Naruto.
However, he couldn't blame the guy. After Sasuke managed to pay himself out of imprisonment- paying both with money and his pride- he'd picked up and left. He didn't tell Kiba; his father had forbid him to ever see the "mutt" again. Still, this wasn't an excuse. Sasuke hadn't wanted to face his boyfriend. So if it was anyone's fault that Kiba was acting the part of a Jackass, it was Sasuke's. He hadn't really made their break-up clear, though most people would get the hint.
Kiba wasn't most people, and wasn't the best at picking up subtle hints- albeit Sasuke's abandonment hadn't exactly been subtle. Sasuke suspected that he would have needed a blow horn and a megaphone to make Kiba understand.
He sat on a bar stool and told the bar tender that he wanted what ever the man sitting to his right wanted; he had no intention of drinking it, he just wanted to appear like he was. He was given a bottle of something, and he wrapped his palm around it, spinning it slightly on the wooden surface of the bar. The man on his right turned and eyed him curiously, but Sasuke ignored him.
"I'm Huuga Neji." The man said finally. Sasuke grunted.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
"Are you waiting for someone?" Neji asked. He had very pale eyes, Sasuke noticed, opaque and pretty.
"No." He replied shortly, "And I'm not interested, so don't even try hitting on me." The pretty eyed man laughed.
"I promise you that I am 100% straight." He replied, "I'm just curious because you keep glancing at the door. I'm trying to figure out whether you want a particular person to walk through, or you don't."
"Oh? And what have you determined?"
"I've decided that you are both hoping for someone to walk in, and hoping for someone not to."
"That makes no sense." Sasuke snapped, circling one finger around the top of his bottle.
"It does. The person you hope to walk it is different than the person you don't want to walk in."
"Hn. Are you waiting for someone?" Sasuke changed the subject.
"Sort of. I'm waiting for my girlfriend to come off the dance floor. See? She's the girl with the buns dancing with the girl with the yellow hair. I wouldn't have come, but she... convinced me." Neji smiled crookedly and Sasuke smirked.
"Right. It's easy to see who wears the pants in your relationship." He said.
"Well, I hope that fate brings Naruto and you together." Neji said. Sasuke stared.
"How did you...?"
"How did I know indeed?" Neji's eyebrows rose. "I think I'm going to join my girlfriend. It seems as though she's having fun, and I don't want to miss out." Neji slapped a white card on the bar and walked away, leaving a stunned Sasuke behind. He put the stiff piece of paper into his pocket and, though he'd just arrived, exited the the bar.
~*~
A white haired bartender grimaced. Sasuke hadn't touched his drink. Orochimaru would be angry...
~*~
Sasuke unlocked his door and flopped down on his bed. His violin case stared at him mockingly, reminding him of his failure to capture the beautiful blond. He turned over so his back was to the violin, but it's stare bored a flaming hole in his back, and he finally grabbed it and placed it out in the living room with the piano. He returned to his room, pulled the covers over his head and concentrated his whole being in falling asleep.
Sasuke was lying under the piano. The piano legs seemed to be getting shorter, the space under the piano growing smaller (3). It was going to suffocate him. Sasuke tried to move away, but he couldn't, he was being held down by the looming figures of his family. Their eyes glowed red, hypnotizing him, trapping him in their gaze...
And then he was underwater. He could see a slender figure drifting towards him, and could tell the other person was drowning. He reached out and grabbed the person's arm. The body turned to face him, and he saw the music god, his yellow hair drifting about his face, covering one eye. The other eye suddenly opened, and...
Sasuke gasped as a warm mouth covered his own. When gentle hands closed around his erection, he realized that he was naked, lying under Naruto in an ocean of blankets. Long fingers teased the slit at the top of his throbbing dick, and Sasuke moaned, feeling the music god smirk into the kiss. Lips left his own, only to close around his cock, turning his cry of protest into a gasp of ecstacy. He looked down through heavy lidded eyes to watch Naruto. Blue eyes met his own...
But melted into brown. Sasuke's mouth opened in a silent scream as the gentle fingers wrapped around his hips tightened like vices, and Kiba leaned up to whisper,
"I'll never let you go."
Sasuke jerked awake. He was tangled up in his sheets, his fingers clenched in fists so tight that his knuckles were white. When he forced them open he saw that his hands were bloody from his nails digging into his palms. His sheets were wet, and he felt bile build up behind his throat. He managed to make his way to the bathroom before throwing up, tears stinging the corners of his eyes as he bent over the toilet.
Fuck.
He straightened and brushed his teeth to wash the vile taste away. He looked intot he mirror; he looked pretty normal- the figure in the mirror not depicting at all the inner turmoil that threatened to consume him. Sasuke turned the shower on full blast, and stepped in immediately;the fridged water turned into a scalding stream. Sasuke stood in the shower as long as he could, clenching his teeth as the water threatened to give him first degree burns. Finally he shut it off, his body red and aching, and stalked out into the bedroom.
He yanked the sheets off the bed, ignoring his naked state, and threw them in the wash. He tossed in soap and turned on the washer. Only once his sin had been locked up in the machine did he go to his closet and pull on clothes. It was still dark outside -4:00 o'clock- but Sasuke knew he couldn't fall asleep again. That didn't stop him from trying. He lay back down on his sheet-less bed and closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes in what seemed to be seconds later. But that couldn't be possible because it was bright outside, and the clock read 8:00 o'clock. Though he was bone tired, it was late enough to wake up, and he stood and went to put his sheets in the dryer. Sasuke couldn't bring himself to do it. He stood looking into the washing machine, not touching, only staring. Then he spontaneously gathered the soaking sheets in his arms, and threw them out of the window. They landed with a satisfying splat on the sidewalk.
Sasuke slammed his window closed. He hadn't wanted to use the soiled sheets again. Now he had to go sheet shopping, but that gave him something to do before he went to meet Kiba at one.
~*~
Sasuke stalked into the lunch place. The murderous aura that swirled around him was so black that it was practically visible, and patrons scattered as he made his way over to the booth Kiba was occupying.
"Hi!" Kiba said stupidly.
"Kiba, I am going to say this one more time. Stop. Following. Me. If you continue following me, I will personally make sure that you disappear off the face of this earth. My family can do that, you know. It's easy. No one will even know you're gone." Sasuke snarled. He'd gone through too much shit to be patient with Kiba.
This was not a simple issue. Sasuke wasn't just acting like a spoiled brat because Kiba had gotten in the way of Sasuke's relationship with Naruto. Sasuke was majorly pissed off.
You try leaving town to escape from a man that almost got you arrested. And then realize that that man stalked you around the world for three years after you left. Then add in a few foiled relationships. And a conflict of interest. And a crushed musical dream. And once you've been through that, try to be patient with the guy that thinks it's okay to leap back into your life after
A. Almost getting you to get arrested
B. Getting you fired multiple times because of sexual misconduct
C. Making your father hate you
D. Getting in the way of your relationship with a hottie blondie
and worst of all
E. Interfering with your musical sanity.
In other words, Kiba was going to die.
Kiba raised his hands.
"Dude, why is it so hard for you to believe that I love you?" He asked. Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"Dude, why is it so hard for you to believe that I am not interested in you anymore??"
"You aren't?" The look of shock on Kiba's face?
Priceless.
Sasuke snorted. His anger was slowly dissipating. It was hard to hate someone that slow. It wasn't like Kiba was stupid- he'd never had below a 3.4 GPA. But when it came to important things, Kiba was an idiot.
"God, Sasuke, I'm sorry. Really. I'm such an idiot!"
"Yes. Yes you are."
"I can't believe I've been such an asshat!" Kiba grimaced. "I thought that you were unaware of my feelings, and were playing hard to get!"
"You were always kind of an idiot with relationships." Sasuke replied, "but I guess I'll forgive you... But, seriously, who says 'asshat'?"
"Me apparently." Kiba said. "I'm glad that even though you don't return my feelings we can be friends again. We can be friends again, right?"
"Sure, but you aren't allowed to be jealous if I start dating someone else."
"..." Kiba stared at him. "So that's why you aren't into me? You've found someone else?"
"No Kiba, I'm not into you because you got me fired from jobs and almost got me arrested." Sasuke glared as he was reminded again of Kiba's failings.
"Dude, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do in order for you to..." he saw the expression on Sasuke's face and quickly began to backtrack: "No, I mean, just friends, yeah, we're cool friends, right, k, good. I definitely don't want anything more than a friendship. No, seriously, being friends is cool. Totally."
"You'll find someone else Kiba." Sasuke said. He really doubted it- the guy had run circles around Sasuke for three years. But he could hope... right?
"Yeah, I think I already have. Well hellllo gorgeous. Wouldn't you like to get to know the Kiba Master?"
Sasuke shook his head. Only Kiba could rebound that quickly.
"Look, I gotta go. Have fun, Kiba Master." Sasuke said patting Kiba on the shoulder as his newly-forgiven friend scanned the restaurant for girl and boy hotties.
"Yeah, sure, and Sasuke, I'm really sorry for stalking you."
"I'm sure you are." Sasuke was extremely glad that particular drama was gone. He had been positive that the lunch meeting would have ended badly- he'd imagined a scenario that included a fork meeting Kiba's forehead. However, it seemed that that particular nightmare was over. Now all he had to do was patch things up with Naruto, and his life could continue rather normally. He could erase the contents of his nightmare one segment at a time.
A white haired man two tables over pushed up his glasses. This was going to be fun.
TBC
~Usagi, Usagi, Usagi-san~
(1) This piece was hella hard for me to learn.
(2) The job may seem not important, but it is.f
(3) growing smaller= oxymoron! LOL
*if you review- please no flames. thank you.