A/N: Hello again! I'd like to thank everyone who added this story to their alerts and favorites. And I'd like to give extra special thanks to those who reviewed the first chapter. The feedback is very much appreciated, more so than you can imagine.

Again, without you readers, I would be nothing.

Enjoy!

I felt slightly uncomfortable sitting next to Naruto on the couch, the both of us casually spooning cereal into our mouths.

But it wasn't a bad sort of uncomfortable. I just felt guilty for having seen such an intimate moment of Naruto's the night before.

But here we were, having sugary breakfast cereal together, as if nothing had happened. As if he had never, in his drunken stupor, confessed his love for me and his suicide attempt in one go. As if I had never witnessed him masturbating. And as if I had never masturbated at the thought of him masturbating.

But Naruto didn't remember any of it. And I knew everything.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said through a bite of marshmallow pieces, "how about we go do something today?"

My heart skipped a beat, and a weird, twisting feeling curled in my stomach.

"Do something? Are you asking me out on a date?" I asked half-jokingly.

Naruto turned red, attempting to keep the rest of the chewed-up marshmallow bits in his mouth. He swallowed and then coughed a bit with his eyes glancing off to the side.

"A date? With you? You wish, Sasuke," Naruto laughed, "No, nothing like that. I was just thinking; you've let me crash on your couch how many times now? I just think that you deserve something nice, since you've been such a good friend. It'll be on me."

I stared at Naruto for a moment.

"So you are asking me out."

Naruto's cheesy grin slid downwards, the corners of his lips weighing heavily towards the floor. He put his cereal bowl on the coffee table and sighed.

"Sasuke, I thought we went over this already. I'm not gay."

Putting my bowl down as well, I stood up quickly and put my hands in my pockets and said, "I'm not either, remember? I was just kidding. But let's grab lunch. Cereal's not cutting it for me."

Naruto hopped off the couch and replied, "All right, let's go. But no love confessions or anything like that, okay? I'm getting creeped out by your gay jokes."

I walked towards the door and said with a low voice, "Makes me wonder sometimes."

oooOOooo

We ended up having brunch at a dim sum restaurant downtown. Naruto looked around the place, his eyes bright and wide, staring hungrily at the various dishes on the food cart that stopped nearby. He pointed at multiple bamboo containers and licked his lips when they were placed on the table.

"Yes!" Naruto said triumphantly, as if he had won some epic battle, "Dim sum. Sweet, delicious dim sum. Ahhh."

Naruto immediately poked at a shrimp dumpling with his chopsticks and opened his mouth wide before engulfing the little morsel.

The whole time, I not-so-subtly watched him eat that dumpling.

I wasn't some sitophiliac. I was not getting aroused by Naruto eating a fucking dumpling.

"Sasuke," Naruto said through a full mouth, spitting out little pieces, "eat. Before I have it all."

He didn't seem to notice my staring. Feeling a bit relieved and a little foolish at my carelessness, I picked up my chopsticks and began to eat as well.

oooOOooo

The more time I spent with Naruto, the more I questioned my sexuality. But then the more I questioned my sexuality, the more confused I became.

If I was gay, why hadn't I shown any interest in men before Naruto came along?

Or was it that, because Naruto was so fucking irresistable, I turned gay for him?

I didn't understand what was going on with my hormones; all I knew was that I was attracted to Naruto, female or not. Every time I saw him during our weekend escapades, I would think back to the time he masturbated on my couch. Since that time, I hadn't caught him again.

But I was sure as hell persistent in trying to catch him. Every night that he stayed over, I would wake up at some random time during the night, as if instinctively waking to catch prey, and tiptoe out into the hall, listening for any small sounds from the living room.

Every single fucking time I set my eyes on him, Naruto was dead asleep, his mouth opened wide in an unattractive manner.

As often as I checked on him, I just couldn't catch him in the act again. And I was frustrated out of my mind.

I wanted to see it live, instead of in my head. I was tired of only fantasizing about a beautiful man doing dirty things, sinful things, to himself. To me. Every night I would lie in my bed, my entire being buzzing in the anticipation that the blond man on my couch would join me.

Naruto had led me astray from everything that I knew was stable, and had caused me to deviate so far from the norm that I didn't know what to do with myself anymore.

I had to relieve myself of this madness, of this obsession that I had gleaned from the moment I laid eyes on Naruto.

And so here I was, awake in the middle of the night once more, looking over Naruto's sleeping form on my couch. I licked my lips in anticipation.

"Mm, Sasuke?"

My body froze. Naruto's wide, blue eyes were fixed on me. My heart began beating quickly, and adrenaline rushed through my body in record time.

"Yeah, it's me."

Naruto blinked, and his eyelids fell a little. He turned to his side, turning himself towards me and meeting my stare.

"Sasuke," Naruto said as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, "what're you still doing up?"

This was my chance, my chance to express to Naruto, to my friend, that I wanted him to become more than what we were. It was a selfish idea; I hadn't even attempted to read into Naruto, to see if he even wanted anything more between us.

He wasn't gay, after all.

But I wasn't either. And that confused me.

"Ah, you see, Naruto-" my throat had suddenly gone dry.

I stood up and shook my head, as if in a drowsy, nearly unconscious state, and replied, "No, nothing. Go back to sleep, Naruto."

I shuffled back to my bedroom and closed the door, caring little that I had used too much force to push it closed. Leaning against the door behind me, I sighed and ran my hand over my face.

I couldn't do it in the end. I was too cowardly.

Heaving a shaky breath, I made my way back over to my bed and pulled the covers over me as my body automatically curled into fetal position.

I just couldn't bring myself to tell Naruto anything.

oooOOooo

"I had a weird dream last night," Naruto said as he stared out the window, "I woke up and saw you sitting on the loveseat. You just stared at me and walked away. Weird, huh?"

I was lazily flipping through television channels as my head nodded in agreement.

"Your dreams don't have to always make sense, so it's okay if they're weird occasionally," I reassured him.

It was great; Naruto thought it was all a dream and I was able to walk away from that situation with my pride still intact. Despite my obvious failure the night before, I still managed to slink away without a trace, with no mess to clean up afterwards.

"Yeah, I guess so. It was just such a clear dream, though. I could see every little detail of your face."

"Maybe you've just been seeing my face too much."

Naruto crinkled his face as he grinned, "Maybe you're right. I should start weaning myself, you know, to stop depending on you like that. But I mean, you're the only friend I've managed to keep for more than a couple months without some sort of fallout."

Continuing to stare at the television, I replied, "I think it's hard not to like you, Naruto."

Out of my peripheral, I could see his curious face as I looked straight ahead.

"You think so? I mean, maybe I just happen to be your type," he said, still grinning.

I didn't reply. I couldn't reply. Not without giving away my feelings. My thumb ceased to move, and I was stuck staring at the animal channel dumbly.

After a moment or two, I shut the television off and turned to Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto, can I ask you something?"

With his grin still plastered on his face, Naruto cocked his head to the side. I took it as a cue to proceed. Taking in a deep breath, I evened out my breathing and attempted to calm my heart a little.

"Naruto, you say you aren't gay, right?" He nodded. "Right. So, even though you're not gay, do you ever feel any sort of...tendencies towards guys? I mean, have you ever had a man crush?"

That was probably the most awkward question I had ever asked in my life. And the dumbest. I was not going to tell Naruto that I had a man crush on him. Not that boldly. But Naruto looked thoughtful.

"A man crush? You mean like with celebrities?" Before I could even correct him, Naruto went on, "Of course, I've had man crushes! You wouldn't believe how often one of my ex-girlfriends would question my sexuality because of those.

"Hey, Sasuke," he said happily as he bounced in his seat, "Do you have a man crush on someone?"

Yes. On you, you idiot.

"No," I replied, "not really."

Naruto curbed his excitement, clearly showing his losing interest as he asked, "Well then, why'd you ask about man crushes? It's not really a normal conversation topic for two grown men anyway, don't you think?"

I thinned my lips and replied as I turned the television back on, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

oooOOooo

I called Naruto on Friday. It was just about half past seven, and usually by then we would have contacted one another to specify a time and place for our weekend drinking ritual.

But he wouldn't pick up his phone. I called once, twice after a half hour had passed, and even text messaged him.

With no reply, and the time reading just about nine o'clock, I gave up trying to contact Naruto and settled to stay in for the night.

I sat idly on the couch that Naruto usually took up; why hadn't he called? Hopefully nothing bad had happened to him.

My heart wrenched for a second, at the thought of Naruto in a car crash. Of Naruto being mugged on the street. Or worse, of Naruto...being manhandled in an alleyway.

I shook my head, attempting to clear such thoughts from my mind. Why was I so worried, anyway? It wasn't as if we were involved with each other like that.

It wasn't as if we had a real relationship in the first place.

Just as I began to wallow in my own self-pity, harsh knocks from my door startled me out of my mood.

"Sasuke? Sasuke, it's me: Naruto!"

Slightly confused, I opened the door and there Naruto was, standing in my doorway with a large paper bag in one hand and with a bottle of wine in another.

I quickly scanned Naruto; he seemed breathless, as if he had run up the stairs instead of taking the elevator. His clothes were a bit more formal than his usual bar-hopping attire, too.

But the best thing about seeing Naruto at that moment was his huge, toothy smile.

"Yeah, sorry about not calling or texting you. I wasn't really feeling in the mood for drinking tonight. And I figured you'd stay in if I didn't contact you, but I wanted this to be a surprise!" Naruto said as he looked down at his occupied hands, "So, uh, surprise!"

I blinked for a moment or two and stared at Naruto. What was he playing at?

"Naruto," I said as I narrowed my eyes slightly, "didn't we already establish that-"

"Tonight is a man-to-man hangout at the bachelor pad. Nothing more. So here I am! Your man!"

My face warmed up a bit; Naruto obviously did not realize what he had just said. Thinking nothing further, I stood aside and waved Naruto in, who grinned and came in to place the stuff on the dining table.

What was Naruto trying to do to me? I folded my arms, and as he turned around, his smile faltered.

"Uh, what's wrong, Sasuke?" he asked as his bright eyes stared at me.

I pressed my lips together and shook my head.

"Nothing's wrong," I said simply, then changed the subject as I walked over and peered into the paper bag on the table, "So what'd you bring? Italian?"

oooOOooo

I couldn't believe this man.

This man, right here, sitting on my couch, had taken away what was rightfully mine: my sanity.

The way he sat on my couch, the way the top three buttons on his shirt were undone, it was maddening. I could see the tanned skin underneath the cloth, and it was just lying out there, in front of me, tempting me.

Naruto was nursing a glass of wine in his hand; I had recognized the expensive wine label and immediately felt some sort of confused, twisting gut feeling, something that I had become accustomed and too familiar to.

What did he want from me, exactly?

Why was Naruto here, in my apartment, dressed in such a way, tempting me with quality food and wine? Why was Naruto here, in my apartment, trying to rip apart my sanity?

Why was Naruto here with me, on a Friday night, when he could easily go out and have drinks instead?

Wasn't that what he wanted to do?

Wasn't that what a straight man would want to do?

I couldn't deal with the raging questions swirling about in my mind. All I could do was sit on my loveseat dumbly, swirling my own glass of wine, taking small sips but never actually coming close to draining the glass.

It had been quiet for a couple of minutes; Naruto noticed my glass-swirling, and he followed suit. His eyes had an unbroken connection to the liquid whirlpooling inside the glass.

I put my glass down on the coffee table and sat back a little, making myself a bit more comfortable.

It was time for me to do some prodding. To find out what the hell was going on in Naruto's mind. To find out what the hell was going on in my mind.

"Was there a reason why you wanted to stay in tonight, Naruto?" I asked him as I folded my arms, "It seems a bit unlike you to want to miss happy hour on a Friday night."

Naruto looked up from his glass and let his eyes glide over to meet mine. He smiled a little.

"Let's just say I've been a bit curious about you for some time, Sasuke."

I consciously swallowed, feeling my ears pop for a moment before they settled down into an equilibrium.

"Curious?" I inquired as I shifted in my seat, "Why would you be curious about me?"

That look in Naruto's eyes as he stared at me, they were darker and slightly fiercer than I remembered them last. He put down his glass and shifted to sit on the edge of the couch, closer to me. With his elbows propped on his knees, Naruto leaned forward and clasped his hands together.

His pose was analytical. He was analyzing me through his intense gaze.

I shifted again in my seat, feeling absolutely uncomfortable under Naruto's scrutinizing eyes. Though he said nothing, I could tell his mind was working faster than he could probably spout words.

After a minute or two of his heated gaze on me, I stood up and said, "Look, Naruto, I don't want to make things weird between us-"

"Weird?" he interjected as he cocked his head to the side, "What makes you think things are weird between us? Aren't we two, straight, grown men, simply finishing up a nice dinner and having a friendly conversation?"

Naruto had gotten up and was moving towards me. I gnashed my jaw, feeling the strange, post-wine feeling of acid-worn teeth in my mouth rub on each other.

"Naruto," I said apprehensively as I stood up in record time, "Naruto, stop it. You don't know what you're doing."

"Oh, but don't I?"

By now, I had my back to the wall, and Naruto had placed his hands on the wall, using his arms to barricade me within his confines. I could only shuffle my feet back in what little space there was left, and I pressed myself onto the wall as flat as I could.

The way Naruto looked at me, there was something certainly different in his eyes than usual. We were so close to one another; I could, by the streetlight streaming its light in from outside, see that Naruto's pupils had dilated.

I had read enough online articles to understand what that meant.

I began to sweat, and pretty soon, my apartment was hot. My skin was hot. I couldn't do anything but allow myself to feel the rush of blood rise to my skin, heating it and giving it a glow.

This fucking bastard.

This fucking bastard was fucking toying with me.

"Stop it!" I yelled loudly as I pushed Naruto's chest, sending him stumbling backwards away from me, "Stop fucking with me, Naruto!"

Naruto caught himself on the back of the loveseat. His eyes were wide, but not ridiculously so. But they still had that darkness to them, that feral look that sent shivers up my spine.

I was breathing hard, my chest heaving as I evened out my breathing and my heartbeat.

"No," I said more so to myself than to Naruto, "no, this can't happen. This cannot happen."

I began a mad pace from where I stood, my eyes darting around the room nervously as I attempted to clear my head. After a lame attempt, I stopped and remained rooted in my spot as I looked over at Naruto, who remained unchanged and propped against the loveseat.

A quiet anger bubbled within me as I stared hard at the wooden floor. I couldn't quite pinpoint the exact reason why I was getting so angry, so frustrated with myself.

"Naruto," I called to him quietly, lowly, "Naruto, don't fuck with me. You're not fucking gay. I'm not fucking gay. We can't be doing this kind of shit!"

There was a pause, a silence that ran thickly between Naruto and I. We stared at one another and were at a loss for words; even I had surprised myself at my outburst.

Another moment passed before Naruto ran a moist tongue over his dry lips and said, "I'm not fucking around, Sasuke. I see the way you look at me; I know that you've been spying on me at night, when I'm sleeping on your couch. I know all the little implications behind your jokes, your gay jokes. I know what it all means, and I know what you're feeling."

I took a step back from Naruto and crossed my arms in front of my chest, as if defending my pride and reestablishing my stature.

But I wasn't as confident as I was usually. Though I stood tall and almost pretentiously, I still felt vulnerable.

But I wasn't going to make it obvious for Naruto to notice.

"Why the fuck would you care, Naruto? You're not gay, remember?" I said defensively, turning the argument towards him.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm not. Well, at least, I thought I wasn't. And from what I remember, you weren't gay either.

"Fuck, Sasuke, for the past couple months, I thought of you as a genuine friend who I could depend on to be there for me. I was finally getting back on my feet after dumping my girlfriend. But then you!"

I flinched when Naruto suddenly barked at me, "You! You fucking tempted me. And you still do."

I pursed my lips and said nothing.

Naruto was pacing this time, his legs taking large strides, as if to burn off excess energy and slow his mind down.

Like all other situations involving Naruto, I did not know what to do. I stood there dumbly, staring at a distressed Naruto, who was running his hand through his hair and gripping at the strands.

Something in me compelled me forward, to do something to rectify the situation. Unfolding my arms, I stepped forward and grabbed Naruto by the shoulders. He didn't fight me, but his eyes blazed as they bore into mine. I remained steadfast and true to my intent.

"I'm sorry," I told him, with the most genuine sincerity I could muster. I'm sorry for bringing you into all this.

It was a quiet moment, and the mood in the room seemed to calm a little. I continued to stare into Naruto's eyes and his continued to search mine.

"I have to go," Naruto said as he buttoned his shirt, "I shouldn't have come tonight."

He left my apartment, shutting the door with a forceful slam that vibrated the wall and shook the keyring on its hook.

I stood there dumbfounded, then collapsed onto the floor and did nothing to stop Naruto from leaving.

Absolutely nothing.

A/N: Ah, this was actually quite depressing to write out. Please, leave me a review. It gives me a good indication of how my readers like my writing style, the progression of the story plot, etc. And they give me a good incentive to continue writing. ;)

Until next time.