A/N: If you're interested in updates on when chapters will be posted, check my profile :) I am going to regularly change it to list what I'm working on and an estimated release date.
Chapter 4: Gossip
Sasuke
At about one in the afternoon, Sasuke had decided to leave Naruto's apartment. He had enough time to get home, take a quick shower, and go visit Itachi. He had given Naruto a swift kiss when he had said goodbye. The blonde had earned that much - he offered to return the DVD Sasuke had rented the night before. His thoughts were a bit... confused about the other man. Sasuke thought that once his hangover had cleared up, he would have a better understanding of his feelings towards the other, but so far... things were just getting worse.
Naruto was obnoxious, but not in a bad way. He seemed to know when and how much to tone down his behavior. He sensed the mood of those around him and changed himself to compliment them. This was something Sasuke was not particularly good at. On top of this, Naruto was attractive. Sasuke typically preferred the tall, serious type who didn't say too much. Naruto was far from quiet or serious, but he had a nice body... muscular, but not frighteningly so, with a nice tan from the summer. He had rough hands and scars across his chest and even a few on his face, but they were kind of sexy, in Sasuke's opinion. Normally he hadn't liked them. Maybe it was the naturally tanned skin instead of the oven-baked glow he was used to seeing on gay men back at home. Maybe it was because Sasuke genuinely enjoyed Naruto's personality and company. Maybe it was because Naruto didn't push him to do anything. Maybe it was because Sasuke was drunk the night before and he was just thinking too hard about all this.
Sasuke shook his head as he stepped out of the shower. His mind was still racing. He couldn't pin point his feelings on, not only Naruto, but college relationships in general. Did he want to date in college? Or did he want to finally embrace being dumped almost half a year ago, and be a total slut? Did he care if he hurt people in the process?
"Fuck," Sasuke mumbled as he closed his finger in his dresser drawer by accident. He was losing his nerve today. He needed to calm down before going to see Itachi. His brother had a knack for sensing emotions, and it this skill grew exponentially after he was blinded.
During his forty-five minute drive to the Konoha Academy for the Blind (KAB), Sasuke thought about the events that led himself and his brother to the southern area of the state. Sasuke had been sixteen when it happened. He was driving on the highway, he and his entire family, on their way back from a trip out west. It had been raining severely and Sasuke could hardly see the lines on the road, but his parents had driven all night and he was the last one awake. And then it happened. A semi didn't see their car and rammed into the right side of the back bumper, sending them flying forward and spinning out of control. The front end eventually slammed into a median, sending Itachi flying towards the windshield. He should have died, but his seatbelt held him back somehow.
His father left with scrapes and a broken collar bone, and his mother was unconscious, but fine in the end. Sasuke had a broken nose, fractured skull, and bruised ribs. But Itachi had the worst of it. He had been in the passenger seat and the head trauma resulted in a severe amount of blood pooling on the surface of his brain... which lead to a stroke... which led to his brother losing his vision... which was all his fault.
After the stroke, Itachi had to go through intense rehabilitation. It was almost as if he had never had the stroke now, except for his lack of sight. His personality for the first year or so was different, though. It was as if something was missing. Something just wasn't there. A spark. Now that Itachi was continuing his education and farther from their parents, he was flourishing again. He had his spark back. Losing his sight didn't hold him back.
Sasuke parked in his usual spot in the visitor's section of Itachi's on-campus apartment. He let out a long sigh, and then got out of the car. Time to try and pretend like nothing happened last night. Sasuke walked into the building. He double checked the map - brail as well as color-coded for all visitors - to make sure he was going in the right direction. Passing a few staff members on his way, Sasuke finally reached his brother's door, and knocked.
"Come in," Itachi called.
"Hey, it's me," Sasuke said as he walked in.
"Me? Me, who? I can't see!" Itachi said. Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're rolling your eyes, aren't you?"
"The joke gets kinda old after the millionth time, Itachi."
"Ehh, deal with it." Itachi wagged a hand in the direction his brother's voice came from. He was sitting at his desk, a book open in front of him.
The book, like the map in the lobby, included text as well as brail below, almost like subtitles. Sasuke mused that it was to help the staff if any of the residents had questions. Not everyone was able to read brail. Sasuke had tried, and managed to memorize some things, but it was more difficult than learning another language. It was learning another language with your hands. He really admired his brother for his persistence when his condition first began. It had really made a difference now.
Itachi was taller than Sasuke by a few inches. His hair was longer, too. He wore all black, which was no surprise, as it was his style before the accident, too. Itachi made a gesture for Sasuke to come closer. Sasuke moved forward and placed a hand on his brothers shoulder. Itachi raised his hand to Sasuke's and placed it on top, holding his hand momentarily.
"Tell me about your first week," Itachi said.
Naruto
Naruto sighed. Again. For what seemed like the tenth time since Sasuke left. He kept pacing the apartment, wondering if it was okay to text him yet.
"No, no, he's too cool to want a text right away," Naruto mumbled to himself. "Or... maybe it's a total front, and he's really a hopeless romantic..."
Naruto continued flopped onto his couch, where oh so recently, he and Sasuke had spent the early afternoon snuggling. He picked up his phone and scrolled through it, hovering on Sasuke's newly added contact information. With a exasperated growl, he dropped the phone onto the couch next to him. Sighing, yet again, he picked it back up.
"I'm sorry I'm so mean to you," he whispered to his phone. He unlocked it and started to scroll through his apps. He managed to stay entertained for five minutes before surrendering and calling Ino for some back up.
"What do you want?" She said as soon as she answered.
"To hear your loving, beautiful voice," Naruto sang. "Ha, kidding. You sound like a hag. I'm kinda freaking out about the Sasuke thing."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. I can't figure out if I should text him," Naruto blushed. Saying his "issue" out loud made it seem that much more trivial.
"Ahhhh, I feel you, hun. How long has it been since he left?" Ino asked.
"Um..." Naruto chewed at his bottom lip. "Maybe two hours?"
"Naruto!" She cackled. "You are hopeless!"
"I know! I can't help it! We had such a good time last night and this morning." Naruto smiled to himself as he recalled the events, which were continuously replaying in the back of his mind anyway.
"Okay, okay. I'm coming over and we're gonna talk about it. We can talk about my night, too! And you're gonna make me lunch!" Ino exclaimed.
"Wait, what? Why do I have to make lunch?!" Naruto asked, but Ino had already hung up.
She arrived within the half hour, decked out in sweats, a school t shirt, flip flops, and last night's makeup. Her hair was tied on her head in a large messy bun. The typical "I went out last night" look for college girls (mainly the left over makeup bit). Naruto had started their lunch shortly after their phone call: box mac n cheese with bacon added in.
"Smells gooooood," She said in a sing-song voice.
"Hell yeah, mac n cheese is the best after what we did last night," Naruto continued to stir the mac n cheese before dishing it out into two bowls. "Fork or spoon?"
"Spoon, duh. And what did you end up doing last night?" Ino asked, wiggling an eyebrow at him. Naruto rolled his eyes and went into the living room area of his studio.
"Nothing, actually." Naruto confessed.
"What?!"
"Well, we kissed a bit... but he doesn't remember it. He was really drunk. I didn't want him to regret anything." Naruto was pushing his mac n cheese around his bowl. "He goes from hot to cold in like, 2.5 seconds. It's ridiculous. I can't keep up but I really want to."
"Wow, you're smitten already, huh?" Ino said, setting down her bowl. "Well, what was he like this morning? This hot and cold stuff, explain."
"I asked what his plans were and he said he was going to visit his brother, and it was fine, until he basically... snapped into a different state of mind and said not to be offended, but he wasn't inviting me." Ino looked like she was about to interrupt, but Naruto continued. "I told him I wasn't going to ask. But who says that? And then he asked me to watch Lion King with him! and he passed out on my chest! I couldn't stay confused!"
"Oh my god, speaking of which, did Sakura respond to that video?" Ino's eyes lit up.
"How do you know?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Who the hell do you think was sitting in the living room when she came out of her room, screaming about Sasuke on your chest?" Ino's devilish smile wouldn't fade. "She's pissed. But she shouldn't be, I mean, she woke up with someone, too."
"What?!" Naruto shouted. He loved gossip.
"Yeah! I guess around four or so she called that Lee kid and he practically sprinted to our place. I don't think they fucked, though, cause I didn't hear anything..."
"Wait, who did you have over?" Naruto said, remembering what Sakura had said earlier. It was his turn to wiggle his eye brows suggestively. He expected Ino to blush, but instead, she almost screamed.
"Fucking KIBA." She yelled. "He passed out in my bed! I slept on my couch til Lee's thunderous arrival woke me up, and finally I managed to get him to scoot over. He didn't grope me, though, he just snored a lot. So I kicked him out around eight I think."
"Damn, that sucks. You didn't even get laid." Naruto chuckled. "Anyway, tell me what Sakura did!"
"Like I said, she's pissed. She was starting to say that you totally converted Sasuke, and that he wasn't really gay. But then I told her that he was the one coming onto you at the after party... And that you were the only reason Sasuke danced with her..." Ino gave a weak smile.
"You said that?!" Naruto was worried now. Sakura was in his regular crew. He didn't want drama. After all, they had been very close until the last month of their freshman year.
"Don't worry, after that, she wasn't blaming you. She calmed down a bit, and said she always kinda suspected it but didn't want to believe it. But she's still pissed, cause she's still really into Sasuke." Ino shrugged. "I mean, he's hot, but I couldn't see them together. He's so sarcastic and she takes everything so seriously."
"Huh. I guess that isn't too bad, then," Naruto tapped his chin, thinking. "But still, this doesn't help me!"
"Oh, right!" Ino began to tap her chin too, to mirror Naruto. "Maybe you should just text him tonight, when you're getting ready to go out? You can ask him what his plans are."
"Maybe..." Naruto sighed. "That just seems like years from now."
"Oh my god, you really are smitten!" Ino squealed.
"Shaddup, don't say that. We hung out for less than twenty hours. Definitely not enough time to be smitten. I'm just... interested." Naruto shrugged.
"Like... in a relationship?" Ino asked.
"I dunno. Maybe. I'm mainly just interested in being around him. I feel like he's got some odd gravitational pull that only works on me," Naruto flailed his arms in defeat and slumped into the couch.
"It definitely does not only work on you. Tons of people at the bar were staring at the two of you. Even Gaara said he's attractive." Ino had a look of disbelief on her face, even though she was the one saying it. Naruto mirrored it. "I know, right? Bizarre."
The two continued to gossip through the afternoon, as well as discuss their plans for the forthcoming evening. The majority of the group had decided to venture out around town and hit up a few house parties, and save the bars as a backup option. Eventually, Ino left to go back to her house and make dinner, leaving Naruto on his own. His thoughts occasionally strayed towards Sasuke, but he tried to keep himself distracted.
Sasuke
"So, what about your first night out?" Itachi asked. The two brothers had been exchanging stories and running off topic for the last two hours.
"Deidara called you, didn't he?" Sasuke glared at his brother, and the older man smirked.
"Of course he did. But he didn't give me details. He just said you actually went out, got drunk, and met someone." Itachi tapped impatiently on his desk. Sasuke was sitting on the nearby bed.
"Well... that's what happened." Sasuke was fidgeting with the covers on the bed.
"Aaaaand...?" Itachi prodded.
"And I met this guy. His name is Naruto. He's really energetic. But it doesn't annoy me as much as it does with others. I don't know. He took me back to his place, but didn't try anything because I was so drunk." Sasuke was still fidgeting.
"You sound somewhat disappointed by that," Itachi said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.
"Well, I'm attracted to him. I wanted something to happen." Sasuke stretched out on the bed, and while doing so, he retrieved his phone from his front pocket. He unlocked it to see no notifications. "He hasn't even texted me."
"Why don't you start the conversation for once?"
"One, I didn't get his number. He was going to text me so I could have his. And two, I don't want to seem desperate," Sasuke said as he dropped his phone onto the bed.
"Maybe that's why he hasn't text you yet, genius." Itachi chuckled.
"Probably. But like I said, he's energetic. He just... radiates energy, almost. I expected him to be the type to not care and do whatever he wants." Sasuke took a moment to think. He sighed. "I don't know."
"Don't know what?" Itachi asked.
"What I want. I have no clue." Sasuke covered his face with his hands. If he kept thinking like this, he would get a headache. "Part of me wants to see where things go with this guy, but at the same time, I don't even want to try. I just want to fuck around." Itachi winced. "Sorry, I keep forgetting you might not want to hear all about my sex life."
"It's not that," Itachi started, and quickly paused. "Okay, it is. But it's also that I want you to be happy, and I've been down that road. Wallowing in self-pity and fucking around won't make you happy. It'll make you feel empty."
"I'm not pitying myself!" Sasuke growled, sitting up in defense. "I was in a year long relationship and got dumped. Maybe I'm not ready for another commitment yet. Maybe I want to do some self-exploring."
"True, but you can't find yourself very well in someone else's pants. I would rather you avoid commitment because you are genuinely uninterested instead of avoiding it because you're afraid of getting attached to one person again." Sasuke started to speak again, but Itachi held up a hand so he could continue. "Don't try and lie to me, I know you have trust issues because of what happened. Anyone would. But going around and fucking random people because you want to be numb is not how to handle it. You've been fucked over. So maybe try avoiding fucking anyone else over, too, okay?"
Sasuke glared at his brother, who turned in his chair and started sliding his fingers across the book on his desk again. After a few moments of this, Sasuke finally sighed.
"I know. I just don't know what I want. I hardly know the guy. I'll figure it out, I guess." Sasuke prodded his phone again, causing it to light up. Still nothing, but he noticed that it was getting close to dinner time, and he still needed to drive home.
The brothers continued to talk for some time after their little dispute. Sasuke informed Itachi that Deidara, who was close to Itachi in high school, was doing fine and more flamboyant than ever before. They talked about high school memories and wondered if any old friends would be visiting over the course of the fall semester. Finally, Sasuke said goodbye to his brother after a long embrace.
"I love you," Itachi called as Sasuke opened the door and began to step out. Sasuke paused.
"I love you, too," He said softly and sincerely. "I'll call you so you know when I'm back at my place so you don't stay up all night worrying."
"Aww, so sweet," Itachi called after him.
In the car, Sasuke let out a long, exhausted sigh. Seeing Itachi usually brightened his mood, but after all that his brother had said... He had even more on his mind now than when he had gotten home from Naruto's. After starting the engine, Sasuke fiddled with the radio for a moment until deciding on a classic rock station. One song faded out and before the other could start, Sasuke heard a little ping and looked down to his phone, lighting up in one of the cupholders.
It was a text from Naruto. Sasuke flushed and, rather quickly, snatched up his phone and unlocked it to read the message.
"I know there's that whole 'wait two days before contacting a girl' rule or whatever, but since we're both guys, it doesn't apply, right? Anyway, some of the group wants to go out and hit up some house parties tonight, maybe the bars if it's lame. Wanna join?"
Sasuke smirked down at his phone. He still didn't know if he wanted in the long run, but for now, he wanted the blonde as company. Sasuke waited a minute or two before responding as to not seem too eager. "Sure, let me know where you want to meet up later."
