Hello !!

Disclaimer : I do not own nor will I ever own Naruto! I'm not good enough at drawing to do so!! And the drama Long Vacation is still not my property... Apart from the OST CD...

This story is still co-authored by StarsOfYaoi! And still Beta-ed by Cyber-Porygon! You better thanks them for their hard work!!!

Sorry for not answering any reviews... I'm totally out of it for the moment and I was uncomfortable with answering the reviews after a month of total silent!! ;;

Thanks to all the reviewers: Ore no Naruto; YaoiRocks; Auel Nader; SilverGenesis2; hurleysuki; Kuroy; ssister; aloukou101; quaero lumen; PirateCaptainBo and Ski; DarkRavie; Mad Mardigan; Kags21; Dark Mistress 2; RoosterEmpress; Harteramo; Evil Ball of Fluff; Raziel; creepy crab; DarkFaith; Billie; StupefiedNarutard; kim; eLKY; Lita21; Virtual-Vertigo; Aaye; NARU.UKE.4LYF.

Hmmm I would also thanks every one who put me or this story on alert!! And thanks to all the readers!!! XD It's really cool to see that people are interested by my work! Thanks!

Long Vacation

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Chapter 03:

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Naruto's eyes fluttered opened as he felt the sun hit harshly his closed eyelids.

"Hn…" he grumbled in distaste.

He had every intention to move and close the damn curtains, but the simple movement of opening his eyes caused a sharp pain to explode inside his head.

Groaning and doubling over, he curled a bit more inside his blankets.

Gods, his head hurt so damn much! What the hell happen?

Everything was fuzzy and he could not remember what happened last night as his brain was not working properly at this hour, whatever hour it was.

After a second of searing stabs of pain, Naruto decided he did not really care at the moment and turned around in his bed, pulling the sheets over his shoulders in a vain attempt to go back to sleep.

"Wake up…" A voice sneaked through Naruto's consciousness, trying to shake him from sleep and softly commanding him to awareness.

At first both the voice and the tone registered in Naruto's mind as unknown and his mind sleepily supposed it was Sakura's.

"Don't want to…," he muttered pouting and twisting, pulling on his sheets a bit more and covering up his head. "Leave me alone Sakura…"

He really did not want to wake up. There was something nagging in the back of his mind that was insistently telling him it was better off sleeping and he was bent on following its advice; his head after all hurt so freaking much…

He vaguely felt a presence move near him, and a second later a large hand pressed against his shoulder, shaking him.

"Wake up…" the dark silky voice whispered softly again near his ear, the hot air grazing his ear making Naruto shivered.

Naruto closed tighter his eyes for a second, wondering when had Sakura's voice turned this… manly, only to suddenly realize that something was amiss –he did not know this voice!

Snapping his eyes open wide, he thrashed away his blanket, gaze fixing on the person standing next to his bed wearing only a pair of silky black Calvin Klein boxers.

It took a second to Naruto's semi–comatose brain to register what he was seeing, and in that second his eyes moved from a mane of silky, ebony hair to a pair of crimson dark eyes, only to roll down on a perfect modeled chest and white athletic legs.

A very nice view indeed, part of him readily agreed.

The man was tall, dark, and…

And then the memories came crashing down on him.

The cancelled marriage, the disappointment and the bitter feelings, the letter Sakura left him, the Sake-ya he had been drowning his pain into, and then this man barging into his booth listening to his drunken complains.

Then everything was fuzzy… for how much he could try no memory of 'afterwards' appeared in his mind.

How had this man ended up in his apartment? How had he himself managed to climb up the stairs of the five stories appartment building to his flat when he clearly remembered he had not even been able to stand the previous day?

And the worst thought of them all… did this man help him go back home?

Yes, probably that guy had helped him go back home, for how strange that could seem –Naruto did not trust strangers so much unless in a drunken stupor and he was not one to get drunk often. Besides, he was not sure people normally decided to be nice and help a stranger go back home.

Had it been a thief, he would have stolen everything and disappeared without caring about him, but…

But then why was he still here? 'If he was not a thief, then what?'

Naruto felt a stab of panic as he tried to overcome his horrible headache -aka hangover- and think clearly.

He could have simply dropped him in the apartment and then go away. What had happened instead? Was there a reason the raven haired man was still in there, in boxers none the less?

Naruto's wave of panic doubled. What had happened with the man? Had he… done something with him last night?!

Because for someone he had never seen before and hardly knew now to stay in his apartment all night along, something surely must have happened…

But… but he was still a… virgin right?!

It must have been the strangest thing ever to wonder at this moment, but the fact was, he did not want to lose his virginity like that. No, not at all! He was one of those people who wanted their first time to be with someone they loved, not with a random stranger met in a bar.

Gods, this sounded even more disgusting like this. Like a whore, or something… or a desperate in need of some warmth…

Even though the said stranger was indeed quite handsome.

Naruto's cheeks turned lightly red at the thought and he could not stop himself from looking up at the black beauty. He had never though himself as someone who could get attracted to the same sex, but probably his mind had not caught up on him yet.

Looking up he realized the man was looking at him as well. Blinking, he then noticed he was not really looking at his face at all… he was looking at his lower part.

Following the gaze of those red eyes, Naruto stared down at his own body and realized he was only sporting the traditional loincloth thong that was traditionally put underneath the ritual kimono.

His blush then intensified tenfold as he gripped the sheets and pulled them up again, draping them around his nearly naked body. He had been sleeping like this?!

And who did undress him? That man, or himself?

The wave of panic returned twice as strong as Naruto had the beginning symptoms of hyperventilation. A single thought was running in circles inside his throbbing mind –'what have we done yesterday night?'

Had they…

Had he… lost his…

He did not even know the man's name, damn it!

His hands lightly shaking on his laps, so much he had to close them into fists to not show his fear and confusion, Naruto found himself looking up again to meet those red eyes, uncertainty flashing inside his own orbs at the thought of what could have happened.

"W–Who are you?" Naruto voiced his thoughts, his voice trembling.

Red eyes regarded him for a moment, "Itachi. Your new roommate." The black haired beauty answered with a soft voice.

All brain processes for Naruto shut down in this moment.

'What?'

After two useless attempts to speak, opening and closing his mouth like a fish, Naruto gulped down on his dry mouth. "M–my…" Naruto began.

"Roommate," Itachi finished for him, his tone still the same.

Naruto gaped like a fish as his brain failed to understand the situation.

"B–but I don't have a roommate!" He intelligently replied. "I don't need a roommate… I'm… I… I never lived with anyone before… I…" Naruto began to search for words, his blue eyes darting everywhere around in the room, not daring to look at the man again, frantically trying to grasp the meaning of the situation.

"I will pay my part of the fee." Itachi cut Naruto's ramblings, his eyes still fixed on the young blond.

Naruto deflated suddenly. He renounced completely, he could not understand. At least, not with his headache pounding in his ears, not in this situation, not with…

And a part of his mind, some strangely reasonable part that was unreasonable on itself -as this was the last thing he should be thinking about- whispered that he indeed would need a roommate.

The apartment had been the marriage's gift from Miko and Higashi, but they had bought it for the married couple to have a place to call their own and now that she left him... Naruto could not very well claim it for himself! He would have to find an arrangement with Haruno-san -he already had planned for paying the Haruno back for this kingly gift anyway- but he knew that financially speaking he could not afford the flat's fee he had calculated now that she was gone.

Naruto lowered his head in defeat, a sigh escaping his lips. He had no choice, had he?

"But there are a few rules to follow!" Naruto said sternly completely forgetting his earlier thoughts and trying to regain at least partially control over the situation.

The blond shook his head and gripped the nearest piece of clothing he could find –a pair of tight black pants that were folded on the nearby chair. He put them on fighting with the fabric so they would stay up.

'At least he could have the decency to turn around!' Naruto thought angrily as his right foot got stuck inside the pants' leg, glaring at everything but the raven haired man still standing there, observing each and every one of his moves.

Finally managing to put his pants on, Naruto stood up straight, walking over to Itachi and glaring at him defiantly.

"First rule: my room is off–limits" Naruto stated, seizing Itachi by his shoulders and turning him around to the door, all the while pushing him out of the room.

Itachi sternly looked back from above his shoulder at Naruto and then at the door, lifting an elegant eyebrow, then his frown disappeared, a small smirk forming instead on his faintly pink lips.

The tall man leaned forwards a little, moving his mouth near Naruto's neck.

"You were not saying that yesterday night, you know," he whispered, breathing on the blonde's skin.

Naruto shivered as the hot air caressed his face, blushing crimson red, and grabbing the handle he violently slammed the door close on Itachi's face.

Sliding down with his back against the closed door, he paused for a moment, heart thumping wildly in his chest, fighting off a sudden attack of nausea –his head hurt like hell.

As he tried to form a coherent thought, blocking all the images of what the dark haired man could be doing on the other side of the door, Naruto groaned in pain, holding his head in his hands as he curled up on the floor.

What had he done last night?

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Standing in front of the now closed room, smirk still present on his lips, Itachi shook slightly his head, staring at door in amusement.

Teasing the blond was entertaining, to say the least. Watching the deep blue eyes darken a bit in anger, whilst his cheeks tinged with a light shade of red… Itachi felt vaguely accomplished in doing that.

It might have been nothing like his usual attitude and behavior, but he did not mind it at all, especially if he could watch the blonde's reactions every time, Satisfying.

His smirk fading a bit, Itachi turned away from the closed door and looked around at the apartment he was going to live in from then on; at first sight it looked quite common. There was a small entrance door -painted orange both on the inside and outside- with a short corridor leading to the central room, which was fairly large.

As usual in Japanese houses, next to the entrance there was a small cupboard to keep shoes in; Itachi and Naruto's shoes were there next to the door as well, in the place Itachi had placed them when entering the apartment.

The sitting room's walls were of a warm creamy color, a light brown–ish tinge, and there were some paintings here and there; a small table was right in the middle, surrounded by two armchairs and a small sofa, all of a red–orangey tone, with cushions of the same shade.

There was a TV in front of the sofa and the armchairs, placed against the wall and next to a couple of bookshelves. There was a stereo and a DVD player as well as a small shelf filled with a few DVDs.

The windows were in a fairly good position, on the other side of the sitting room, so light could come in without being a bother, and would not overheat the apartment in summer days with a little bit of help from the a/c sitting in a hidden corner. Itachi nodded to himself, since speaking about himself, he did not like heat that much –part of the reason as to why he had a pale complexion.

The door that probably led to the bathroom was on the left, and on the other side of the sitting room there were two other doors, both facing the entrance.

It was nothing extraordinary in Itachi's opinion, but he was actually biased, since he had always lived in expensive suites. Besides, for someone who had just graduated from university -if he could believe what the blond had told him whilst stuttering his whole life out due to his drunken state-, it was actually strange to own such a nice place.

Itachi shrugged, he would have all the time in the world to get to know the younger man.

Stepping away from Naruto's own room, Itachi moved to take a look to the bathroom, which was small but had a sink, a shower, a bathtub and two cupboards, and also a smaller window; there were one white clean towels and a pink one on a ledge, and soap next to the sink.

Everything looked really clean, with white and blue tilled walls and dark blue tilled on the floor.

Closing the bathroom door Itachi walked over to the kitchen, looking around and recognizing the style as a small American type of kitchen; the sink was on the farthest wall on the right, next to another window.

There was a large cabinet in a corner, and on the left there was an electric four hot–plates oven topped by a hood. Everything looked fairly new, as did the fridge, that was on the other corner next to a second cupboard and was a combo of fridge and freezer.

There were some fruit–shaped magnets on the fridge, probably used to hang small notes and such. Itachi found this though amusing. He could just picture the blond forgetting things and someone -the person he had been crying over last night- having to put notes on there so he would remember.

The small smile vanished from the raven haired man's lips at the thought of the person who had been the cause of the blonde's depression. Who could be this stupid to dump someone like the blond without a warning?

But there again, he had to thank that person or something, since he had now a place where to live.

Shrugging, Itachi continued his careful inspection of the apartment.

Facing the oven there was a crème–painted wooden counter, in front of which there were three black stools with their back turned to the lounge.

On the farther left corner of the counter there was a potted green plant, whist on the centre there was a cute bouquet of fresh flowers, some of which were already wilting a bit; next to the plant there was a black wire cup filled with fresh–looking oranges, whose smell reached out towards Itachi.

There were various glasses suspended above the counter, with plates and cups.

"Tell me what you eat and I'll tell you who you are," Itachi muttered amusedly under his breath as he moved to the fridge, opening it.

To his surprise it was rather empty, apart some vegetables in the left lower corner –which looked like they would stay there until they grew rotten– and a few bottles of milk and water; the fridge was probably used only as storage for cool beverages.

Closing it he proceeded to open all the cabinets and drawers of the kitchen, wondering what he would find there.

It was then he came to a single conclusion about his new roommate –ramen freak.

Everywhere he could look, there were cups and cups of dried instant noodles, mostly miso but also of other various tastes. Must be why there was a water–heater on the oven.

Itachi's upper lip twitched a bit before he moved to close all the cupboards again, wondering how the blond had managed such fit shape if he only ate such inconsistent and unhealthy food all the time.

Sighing he returned to the sitting room where his clothes were -he had been walking around the apartment only in his silk boxers and he did not even realize it until now- and took off his cell phone from the pants' pocket, quickly dialing a number.

Finally he heard the familiar click on the other side, and without waiting for a reply he started to speak, "Minako–san, I want you to go to my hotel room and pick up all my belongings" he paused for a split second, "and take them all to the address I will tell you now".

His brows furrowed briefly as he listened to the shrill voice answering on the other end of the line, before his fingers tightened on the phone.

"No".

Without further ado, Itachi shut the call off immediately.

"I'll need a new secretary" he muttered to himself, tapping his chin with a finger. "Maybe this time I'll go for a man, for a change…"

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Iruka was busy pacing inside his small apartment, not even looking up from the floor as he moved erratically from one room to the other, unable to calm down.

It was his fault, he knew it.

This mess was all his fault! He should have convinced Naruto to say no, but… he had never been able to resist the blond, he could not deny him anything.

And now, due to his complete lack of willpower, his Naruto, the person he regarded as a son, was suffering.

Iruka stopped pacing in front of his small wooden gueridon, where there was a framed photo of Naruto and Sakura, both smiling at the camera. It had been a sunny day and the two had decided to go to a park and have a picnic, and had taken a lot of photos, so when Iruka had asked one, Naruto had happily given him this one, where Sakura and he were together.

At the time it had looked perfect, a happy couple smiling at the photographer, their hands intertwined and eyes sparkling, but now… looking intently at the display, Iruka could not see anything but the flaws on Sakura's fake smile.

He had forced himself to accept her, he had forced himself to believe she was the right one for his Naruto, but he had never managed to fool himself enough to stop looking at her with suspicion; she had been sly, but not enough for Iruka to not notice. She was no good for Naruto.

The pink haired young woman was nothing but a spoiled child who had no limits, and Naruto would have never been able to impose himself enough to set some to her.

Iruka sadly shook his head. He was not accusing her, nor judging. This was simply the truth, how she grew up and her own mind set. She was lost, and could not understand how hard life was, and that she had to start learning and fighting on her own, instead of always relying on her father's bank account.

Sakura needed someone that could make her have a reality check, someone that could force her to see where her limits were, of this Iruka was sure. He believed there would be someone one day able to make Sakura finally open her eyes…

But this person was not Naruto, and had never been him.

He had always loved her too much, worshipping everything about her so much he had been blinded to her faults, when everyone around them could easily see them.

In a sense, if Iruka had to be truthful with himself, he was somewhat glad Sakura did not show up for the ceremony.

Maybe Naruto would be hurt, and maybe it would take a lot for his true smile to finally come back, but Iruka knew this was better than condemning him to a life of pain and lies, until Sakura would run away again when realizing Naruto would not give her what she wanted.

It would have been worse then.

Biting his lip, Iruka felt the bitter taste of guilt fill his heart and burn it from the inside at the mere thought; he could not ignore the feeling of relief he had felt when Naruto had announced the marriage was cancelled, but he could not forget Naruto's pained eyes, eyes that were trying to hide the hurt under a fake smile.

He had felt so light, as if they had avoided a catastrophe, but at the same time, his heart had swelled up in pain for his adopted son.

Iruka walked to a chair and sat down on it, the frame of Sakura and Naruto still in his hands; looking at their happy faces was like staring into a dream, a dream that was now ended and he had been forced to open his eyes to the reality around him.

In his heart, he knew Naruto would go through all of this and would lift his head up high again, given a bit of time, since he was too much of a strong head and stubborn to be broken this easily. He was too strong to allow himself to be swallowed by darkness.

He would manage to go through this pain again, just like he had done before.

He had never ever given up, and he would stand up this time as well.

Iruka closed his eyes, dropping the frame on the table and relaxing on the chair, tilting his head backwards until he hit the chair's wood with the back of his neck.

He could not stop his worry thought. He would never stop worrying for Naruto as it was his nature.

How could he not?

Banging his head on the table, Iruka groaned 'Really'.

He knew Naruto, he knew him too well. He had known him for far too long for this shit. He would do something harsh; he had always been the most surprising one, ever since he was a child. He had never listened to anyone, just following his own way, the one he decided for himself, not caring at all about what others could think.

He was always where you would not expect him to be, doing things that for others would have been impossible.

He had continued his studies into college, something no one had expected him to do at all… he was not one for school and studies, though his grades were good.

The biggest surprise had been his major though –French and Chinese. He chose French over English because it was the 'language of diplomats' as he put it, and he decided over Chinese because china -as he kept saying everyone who asked- was a market in expansion.

To Iruka, it did not make sense.

Everyone who knew the blond had tried to reason with him, telling the blond that he should choose English major instead, since it was expected as the obvious choice of language –what with English being a more popular language– but he had argued back with apparently valid arguments, commenting that he had a good level of English already and that he would work on it on his own.

The only one agreeing with him about his decision had been Sakura, but her enthusiasm was based on really shallow reasons –something about always dreaming to have someone whispering sweet nothings in her ears in French.

Furthermore, Naruto had refused to have Iruka pay his bills for schooling. All of them, and any other things he needed, the blond would do it alone, not wanting to weight on his adopted father.

He had been applying for scholarships ever since middle school, more or less successfully, and later on he had taken multiple 'arbeit'(1), working early in the morning and until late at night, and in the weekends.

He had taken seriously into account his own strengths, but always managing to do more, keeping up and never backing away from his responsibilities.

Iruka had to smile, even in his worry–filled moment, because in a flash Naruto's smiling face passed in front of his closed eyes was a strong–minded person that would stop at nothing to achieve his dreams.

A second passed, and then Iruka's head shot up from the table, as he paled considerably.

What if…

What if Naruto were to decide to go after Sakura?

He would be up for another heartbreak.

Sakura was not one to use sweet–coated words when she did not like something; she was determined, hard and blunt to the point of being mean, or maybe, Iruka added to himself, she simply was mean.

Closing his eyes, the brown haired teacher forced himself to breathe in and out deeply, trying to calm himself down, all the while massaging the scar he had on the brink of his nose.

There was no need to panic now. He had to have faith in Naruto.

He had to help him through this… disaster; this was the most important thing now.

Anything else would come later on.

Sighing he stood up –he had to make space for Naruto now.

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Tsuzuku (TBC)

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(1) Arbeit in Japanese stands for part-time job.

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