Summary: Sometimes small annoyances can overshadow the reason people fell in love in the first place. Sasuke slowly realizes that he might have let something irreplaceable slip away without a fight. Not a cheating fic! YAOI (boy x boy) main pairing: SasuNaruSasu, some SasuNeji, some GaaNaruGaa

Warning: LOTS of swearing. TONS of it. All over the fucking place. You know how I roll, and this is a fight, so...

Chapter 7 - No chance

Author's Note: Another weirdly fast update! I am clearly obsessed with this story, but at some point I am guessing things will go back to my regular update frequency of about 2 weeks. Probably? idk. ANYWAY, up to this point in this story, the canon elements of their characters that are most 'in play' are: 1 - Naruto (due to his childhood and possibly just how he's wired), needs a lot of attention, particularly from Sasuke, and needs external validation of himself even though he is very talented and has lots of friends. 2 - Sasuke is very driven and tends to get tunnel vision on his goals (job, revenge, whatever) and loses sight of other things including his own emotional needs. So their character flaws are basically diametrically opposed to each other (something that always struck me as particularly tragic in canon), but they still love each other so it is just… really hard. For this chapter in particular, remember that Naruto has had time to think about this all and come to terms with what he feels and what he wants to say. Sasuke hasn't, and normal human beings need time to process stuff like this before they can really express or even KNOW how they feel. And… as we all know… Sasuke is less emotionally adept than your normal person. So…. LOL


Sasuke's stomach felt like lead as he watched Naruto walk away without looking back. Naruto had seemed to believe him when he said that there was nothing going on with Neji. But if Naruto had believed him, then why did he still seem so upset? Sasuke had never even thought about Neji as anything other than his co-team leader on the project. The tension that was gripping him was making his palms sweat. He stood there, frozen, not sure what to do or what to think.

"Everything ok?" Neji's calm voice came from right behind him.

Sasuke was still looking down the street where Naruto had disappeared. He didn't really know how to answer the question. He honestly… didn't know. It was a very unsettling feeling for him.

Neji looked at him assessingly, a hint of concern coloring his pale eyes. "I took care of the bill. Are you going home or are you going to the office?" Neji asked, his voice carefully neutral to avoid appearing to pry into Sasuke's personal business. Something Sasuke greatly appreciated about the man, particularly in that moment.

"Naruto is my boyfriend," Sasuke found himself saying, not sure why it suddenly was extremely important that he say it out loud. He turned to look at Neji, wanting to see the man's reaction. "We've been together for six years."

Neji raised an eyebrow, glancing down the same path Sasuke's eyes had been focused on. "Do you need to go home? I can cover you with the analyst call."

They both knew that Neji really couldn't. He worked for a different company and wouldn't know how the current project fit in with the other things going on in the company the way Sasuke did. Neji wouldn't be able to highlight the right things. Plus, this was clearly a make or break moment in Sasuke's career. It wasn't every day that the CEO asked you to be his right-hand-man on an important PR moment like this.

"No," Sasuke said, finally. "Naruto gave me his word that we'd talk about… this… when I get home. He will keep his word. I'm sure… we can… sort it all out."

Neji frowned slightly. "If you need me to talk to him, I'd be happy to confirm that this was strictly business."

"I… no. He believed me. I just don't know why -" Sasuke stopped himself. Naruto's expression when he'd left kept swimming in Sasuke's head. What had happened? What was wrong?

"You don't know why…" Neji prompted, handing Sasuke his bag that Sasuke had left behind in the restaurant in his rush to go after Naruto. Sasuke accepted it automatically, slinging it over his shoulder.

"He introduced himself to you as my roommate. Why would he do that?" Sasuke wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or Neji. He felt like he was trying to see through a brick wall. Things had seemed to be getting better over the past few months but now… Sasuke didn't know.

Neji shrugged, "He probably knew that you hadn't discussed your relationship status with anyone at work. Maybe he thought you didn't want us to know? Did he think your orientation would put your job at risk?"

While Neji's explanation was logical, Sasuke somehow knew that it wasn't right. He turned as they headed to Neji's car. "I don't know." Naruto had been clear that he preferred to talk when Sasuke had finished this meeting and they were at home in private. Sasuke trusted that Naruto would tell him what was wrong so they could talk it out. Naruto had never been one to hold back on what he thought when Sasuke had fucked up in the past. Sasuke wondered what had happened, but figured they'd fight it out like they usually did. He was only feeling unsettled because usually he knew when he'd done something to piss Naruto off, and this time he really wasn't sure.

"I'm sure you'll get it sorted out when you get home," Neji said. "Should we talk through the key points that you need your CEO to make on the call?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He just needed to get through the call, then he would go home and find out what the fuck was going on.


Naruto put the last bag of his camera equipment into the trunk of his car. He'd already called Kiba and asked if he could crash at his place. He knew that the conversation with Sasuke was not going to go well, and he didn't want to have to sleep there that night. Throwing his camera equipment into his car in the middle of a big fight seemed like a particularly stupid idea given the cost of some of his lenses, so he had decided to do it before Sasuke got back. And it gave him something to do while he waited.

He'd packed up some of his clothes and the things he'd need for work for the next few days. If things went the way he expected them to, he'd come back and move the rest of his stuff out later that week.

It felt… strange. For so long, all he'd ever wanted was Sasuke. He could hardly believe that he was actually the one walking away. His stomach twisted, and he wondered if he was doing the right thing. He had never felt as close to someone as he did with Sasuke. He might never find anything like this again. Was he really ready to do this?

He closed his eyes, his head falling back as memories of the misery he'd felt for the past two years washed through him. Yes. This was the right thing to do. He couldn't keep on like this. He needed someone in his life, not just brushing past it. And Sasuke clearly needed… someone else. Naruto didn't know whether Sasuke would end up with Neji or not, but it was clear that Naruto didn't hold Sasuke's interest anymore. It would probably hurt less to be alone than to be with someone who constantly made him feel unworthy and in the way. He didn't fool himself about how much he would miss Sasuke. It was going to kill him. But he had to leave, or he would slowly be destroyed.

But the waiting was unbearable. Now that he'd made up his mind, he just wished it was already over. He didn't want to hurt Sasuke, but other than pricking his pride, Naruto didn't expect Sasuke to be that upset. After all, how much could Sasuke really care anymore if he couldn't even be bothered to show up most of the time?

Naruto had already packed everything he could fit into his car, so there was nothing really left to do except wait. Naruto tried to read a book or watch TV, but he found his mind couldn't stay focused on anything. Finally, he decided he could at least do some cleaning in the kitchen and the bathroom while he waited. Sasuke usually did that, but it would give Naruto something to do with his hands and occupy his mind until Sasuke came back.


Sasuke hadn't stayed one second longer than absolutely required in the CEO's office, calmly accepting the thanks from the senior executive for the success of the call with the American analyst and then heading home as fast as possible.

He'd had to force himself to stay focused during the call, but the whole time his mind had been buzzing trying to figure out what was going on with Naruto. Things had been going better between him and Naruto in recent months. Naruto had been less angry, and they'd been talking a little bit more. Sasuke was closer than ever to getting the next promotion, and then he would have more control over his schedule.

But the expression on Naruto's face when he'd left….

Sasuke had never seen it before, and he never wanted to see it again. Something was terribly wrong, and he needed to get home and fix it.

Sasuke opened the door to their apartment, the smell of cleanser sharp in the air. It was a scent that Sasuke usually found soothing, but it did nothing to take the edge off the uneasiness that he felt at the moment.

Naruto looked up from a dish he was washing in the sink. Sasuke felt his wariness grow at the look of grim determination in Naruto's eyes as he tried off his hands. There was something odd about the degree of cleanliness of the room, but Sasuke couldn't quite place it because all he could look at was Naruto's face and the way the blue eyes watched him with a sort of resigned sadness that Sasuke didn't know how to interpret.

"How did the call go?" Naruto asked, snapping Sasuke out of his frozen state.

"Fine," Sasuke replied, slowly setting his bag down and toeing off his shoes, his gaze never leaving Naruto's. "Now are you going to tell me what the fuck you meant by introducing yourself to Neji as my roommate?"

Naruto gave a humorless smile. "Cutting right to the chase, eh, Sasuke?" Naruto sighed as he pulled out a chair at their kitchen table and sat down. "Given that you didn't seem to want anyone to know you were dating me, I figured there was no point in introducing myself as your boyfriend. Especially not now."

Sasuke paused. There were so many things wrong with what Naruto just said he didn't even know where to start. He sat down at the table across from Naruto.

"I don't talk about Itachi or my parents or any of my personal life at work. Just like I didn't in college. And you know that, so don't read shit into it. What do you mean 'no point, especially now'?"

Naruto shrugged, and Sasuke knew Naruto was conceding at least his first point. It was true. In college, Sasuke never discussed anything with people unless it was part of a class assignment. Naruto had changed that, though the process had been an outright battle. Neither boy had liked to talk much about their pasts. Slowly they'd dragged bits and pieces out of each other. It had been like pulling teeth to get Sasuke to open up about anything, but Naruto hadn't been much better. Not really. Naruto would talk endlessly with anyone about shit that didn't matter, but that was all just a front to keep people from getting to know him beyond a superficial level. Sasuke had been the only one he'd told the dark stuff too... the things in Naruto's past that had shaped him. Sasuke didn't let his gaze waver from Naruto's, daring his lover to refute that truth.

Naruto met his gaze, but there was no acknowledgement in the blue eyes. Sasuke felt his anxiety grow. Usually, they would be on the same page with things like this, understanding what the other was thinking, but now… Sasuke had the feeling they weren't even in the same book. And Naruto's next words bore that out in brutal starkness.

"Look, Sasuke. I just… we both know this isn't working." Naruto grimaced slightly, possibly at the clichéd words that he'd just uttered, but Sasuke barely noticed.

He felt like he had somehow walked into the wrong room. Naruto... couldn't be saying what it sounded like. Naruto would never do that. Not without one hell of a fight. Especially given all it had taken to get them together in the first place, fighting each other every step of the way.

"What? What isn't working?" Sasuke asked sharply.

Naruto looked at him as though he were being purposefully obtuse, and Sasuke forced himself to not jump to conclusions. There was no way that Naruto was saying -

"Our relationship, Sasuke. It's… I think it's time to just…" Naruto searched Sasuke's face, and Sasuke wondered what he was able to read from his expression. "Neither of us are happy. I can help out with rent until you find another roommate, if you want, or -"

"Wait. What?" Sasuke felt panic spear into his stomach, but it was laced with an edge of anger. If this was some sort of joke, Sasuke was going to kick Naruto's ass for it. "You're breaking up with me?" Utter disbelief colored Sasuke's voice.

Naruto raised his hands in a placating fashion that just pissed Sasuke off even more. "Look, Sasuke, I just… I'm tired of fighting all the time and nothing ever changes and -"

Sasuke remembered Naruto's insinuation about Neji, and a horrible thought struck him.

"Are you seeing someone else?" Sasuke asked, his voice harsh. If Naruto was leaving him for someone else, it would break him. And he would probably wind up in jail for killing someone. But Naruto's horrified expression told him instantly that that was not the case, and Sasuke felt some of his sanity return.

"What?! No! Of course not, you asshole, I just -"

"Then what the fuck, Naruto!" Sasuke stood so abruptly that the chair fell over, but he didn't bother picking it up. He walked over to the kitchen counter then turned around to face Naruto. "So you just decided this? All on your own, for no apparent reason. Six years, and we're not even going to discuss it?! You're just seriously going to sit there calmly and talk to me about… about the fucking rent?!" Sasuke felt an almost uncontrollable urge to throw the table across the room.

Sasuke could see an answering temper start to spark in Naruto's eyes, and it made him glad to see something rather than that calm, stupid front that had fuck-all to do with the man he thought he'd been dating. The man who was passionate and loyal and honest and didn't just walk away for no fucking reason. Not someone who just announces out of the blue that their relationship was over, like cancelling the subscription to a magazine that no longer held his interest.

"We've been talking about it, Sasuke! Jesus, we've been arguing about your work schedule for over two years and -"

"How the fuck have we been talking about it? I'm pretty sure that this is the first I'm hearing about you wanting to break up. And it's already decided?"

Naruto blinked, looking surprised at Sasuke's reaction and Sasuke couldn't understand why. "Sasuke, I've been telling you for the past two years that things were not good. Do you remember how many fights we had about the fact that you're never fucking home?"

Sasuke could barely even register what Naruto was saying. "You stopped complaining about that months ago. I told you that as soon as I get the next promotion, things will get better and I thought that you were being reasonable and -"

"Reasonable? How is it reasonable to work as many hours as you do and not have anything ever change?" Naruto was shouting now, too, and somehow it made Sasuke feel better that he wasn't the only one.

"It's reasonable because most people work after college! Not everyone has a job like you where they can set their own hours. And one of us has to make enough to cover our bills! Tell me what isn't reasonable about that."

"Not everyone works themselves to death for their job, Sasuke! There has to be some middle ground."

"But I keep telling you that this is temporary. When I get promoted I'll have -"

"Then suddenly you'll be satisfied? All your ambitions will be fulfilled? This isn't the first goal you've set for yourself, Sasuke. It isn't the first time you've told me it will get better soon. But it never does. It's never going to end. Every time you reach one milestone, you just slot a new one into its place. We don't ever spend any time together. I hardly ever even see you. How is that a relationship?"

"And that's it? I have a job and so now I'm not fun enough and you just decide to walk?" Sasuke could feel his hands shaking. His brain was still not processing much aside from the fact that Naruto - the only person Sasuke had ever willingly let into his life - was calmly announcing that he'd decided to leave it.

"It's not about fun, Sasuke! It's about you fucking never being here!" Naruto's shout filled the room. "I spent the first half of my life alone. I have no intention of spending the second half that way. This… this isn't enough for me."

The words hit Sasuke like a slap. How long had Sasuke spent his life feeling like he was good but never quite enough? His entire childhood had been spent having that rubbed in his face over and over by his parents and his teachers, with the constant comparisons to his perfect older brother.

The fact that Naruto had chosen that particular knife to wield should have made Sasuke furious, but the vulnerable expression in Naruto's face made Sasuke's chest tighten, instead. He knew a little about Naruto's past. Neither one had talked about their unhappy childhoods extensively, but he knew the basics. And he understood why Naruto was mad that Sasuke worked late to a certain extent. But that was just a temporary thing while Sasuke got started in his career. He had explained this to Naruto over and over.

Sasuke couldn't just quit. Not after working so hard putting himself through school with no help from his parents or anyone else. Naruto knew that. Naruto knew why Sasuke couldn't just quit and Naruto knew why.

But he was still asking him to. Naruto was… making him choose.

"Naruto…" Naruto flinched at the sound of Sasuke's voice and Sasuke didn't want to think about what emotions were betrayed by his own throat. It reminded him of when he was young, desperately trying to talk his parents into coming to his debate when he won at state. Or to his soccer matches. Or to really fucking anything, but they never could be bothered unless it involved Itachi.

He cleared his throat, putting every ounce of cold disdain into his voice. If Naruto was going to do this to him, then he wouldn't let him see how much it hurt. He could be just as callous. "So that's it? You're asking me to choose between you and my career?"

Naruto seemed to hesitate, his face looking conflicted, and Sasuke felt a flicker of hope. But then Naruto drew a breath and slowly shook his head.

"No, Sasuke. I'm telling you that you already have. What would extracting some sort of promise from you get me? We've tried that before. I don't want to force you to spend time with me by threatening to leave you. What would that even mean? I don't want you to do it if it isn't what you want. I can't force you to be interested in my life. All that would do would be to make us hate each other."

Sasuke felt an odd, panicky feeling in vice around his chest. But then slowly, the hurt and desperation he'd felt melted away, hardening into a cold anger that built in his stomach then coiled protectively around his heart as he realized something important.

Naruto had led him on for the past several months.

He'd made Sasuke think that things were fine when they weren't. Which was just another form of lying... something Sasuke never tolerated from anyone and something he sure as hell had never expected from Naruto. How many times had Naruto told him he'd always be there for him? How many times had Naruto told Sasuke how much he needed him, that Sasuke was the only person who'd really been able to understand him? Sasuke's face closed off, a mask of cold disdain falling easily into place. He'd used it on his parents many times.

Evidently, the past few months had all just been bullshit. The same, self-serving bull-shit that everyone else always spewed at him. He'd been stupid to believe in Naruto. People were all the same.

"Well, it's good to know that it our relationship was worth so much to you," Sasuke sneered, grateful that his voice came out cold and biting, showing none of the hurt he was feeling. "I guess I should thank you for not breaking up with me in the restaurant and causing a public scene. How long have you been planning to spring this on me?"

"Sasuke, I -" Naruto looked upset, but Sasuke wasn't interested. There was no going back now.

"How. Fucking. Long," Sasuke narrowed his eyes. His body was filled with the heat of his anger. And he was grateful, since it was drowning out the horrible pain that had flooded him when Naruto had told him he was breaking it off.

"Two weeks," Naruto said, scrubbing his fingers through his hair. Sasuke wrote off the look of anguish on Naruto's face. What did Naruto have to be anguished about? This was Naruto's choice. Naruto's lie.

Something about the timeframe made Sasuke suddenly pause. He did the mental math, then he was across the room before he could even process the intent to do so, his fingers fisting into the collar of Naruto's sweatshirt as he dragged him out of the chair and slammed him against the kitchen wall. "You fucked me knowing you were going to leave?"

Naruto grunted slightly at the impact with the wall, and his eyes carried a flash of guilt that nearly made Sasuke lose control and put his fist into Naruto's face. He felt a visceral need to hurt the blond who was ripping him apart. Sasuke had not taken many lovers. He had never been one for physical intimacy with just random people, and Naruto knew that. Sasuke had trusted Naruto, and…

"No. Sasuke, no," Naruto's voice was desperate and pained but Sasuke didn't care. "I was drunk and I hadn't meant to… I was unhappy, but it wasn't until after that night that I decided that… that I realized…"

Sasuke released Naruto's shirt and stepped back, not trusting himself to be that close to Naruto when he was this angry. He felt his throat closing up and squeezed his eyes closed. This was such utter and complete shit. He felt like he didn't know Naruto at all in that moment. Where was the open, trustworthy, loyal person he'd opened himself up to? He felt bitter and emotionally betrayed. Instinctively, he lashed out, wanting Naruto to feel at least a taste of what he felt.

"So we had a good fuck and you decided that it was over?" Sasuke's voice was harsh and angry.

Naruto flinched at the words more than he had when Sasuke had slammed him into the wall.

"It wasn't like that, Sasuke. I hadn't planned anything I was just…"

"You were just what, Naruto? Unhappy enough with me to beg me to fuck you and cum twice? Then decide the next day that you'd string me along for two weeks while you lined everything up before you walked out?"

Naruto looked down at the floor, and Sasuke felt a pain shoot through him. Why hadn't Naruto fought for them? How could he do this?

"So what's your plan, now?" Sasuke's voice was mocking. "You've got your big break, so you don't need me supporting you anymore. What, you planning to just go find some college student to fuck now who can spend all day just waiting for you to come home like some goddamn housewife? Someone who has no life outside of you?"

Naruto's head snapped up and any guilt that had been on the blond's face was gone in a flash of anger.

"This isn't about my job, Sasuke. This hasn't been working for a long time! The only reason this is a surprise to you is because it hasn't been important enough to you for you to fucking notice!"

An echo of Itachi's words made Sasuke somehow even angrier, though this time he wasn't sure if he was angrier at Naruto or himself.

"And you've always been the kind of person to just sit back silently and wait for someone to fucking notice you, right, Naruto? It's funny how you didn't decide to leave until you got a job to support yourself. I guess now that I'm not useful, you can find someone else." Sasuke couldn't stop the words from leaving his lips. Naruto paled as though he'd been struck. Sasuke smiled coldly.

"You can't really think that I -" Naruto's voice choked off, and Sasuke had to look away. He could not look at Naruto anymore. The betrayal of everything was so overwhelming that he didn't know what he would do if Naruto came too close to him right now.

"I don't know you at all, Naruto," Sasuke's voice was devoid of all emotion. "The person I thought I was dating wouldn't just give up without even trying to talk it out. What am I supposed to think? You walk practically the day you got that fucking job offer."

"Sasuke, I…" Naruto's voice was shaking, but it was partially in anger. "Look, if all I was waiting for was my 'big break', I could have broken up with you right after college when I got offered that internship! But I didn't! I turned it down to be with you. But you won't even miss a single goddamn meeting to spend time with me!"

Sasuke blinked, surprise at what Naruto was saying temporarily breaking through his haze of anger. His eyes snapped back to Naruto's face. "You told me that the internship you turned down had shitty pay and that it wasn't worth the cost to commute."

"Yeah. It did have shitty pay. But it was at a company known for making photographers, Sasuke. I had my break right away. But you were more important. Our relationship was more important. But you clearly didn't feel the same. All you did was resent the fact that you were paying more of the bills than I was and that my career wasn't going anywhere while yours was taking off."

Sasuke processed the implications of what Naruto was saying, and his anger flooded back through him.

"What the hell, Naruto?! You can't just make decisions like that without telling me and then blame me for it! How was I supposed to know what you were giving up if you didn't tell me? We could have found a way to make it work. I never asked you to give up your career for me, or put it on hold! We could have both gotten smaller apartments and seen each other on the weekends. With the hours I work -"

"I know that now!" Naruto gritted out. "But I didn't know that then. But my point is that I chose you, and you chose your job."

"And maybe if you'd just fucking talked to me about it, we could have found a way to have both!"

"Sasuke I tried talking to you so many times -"

"Not about the job offer. You never once talked to me about it except to say you already turned it down."

"I tried to talk to you about other things... the long hours you were working, the fact that we never did anything together anymore, but it just never got us anywhere! I'm tired of living alone, I'm tired of not having anyone to talk to."

"You talked to me about things I couldn't change, then kept silent on the things we could have actually fixed!We aren't in college anymore, Naruto! We have to grow up. We can't just hang out all night playing video games or watching movies or whatever now. This is real life, Naruto, and unless you're born with a trust fund, you have to work."

"I know that, Sasuke! Don't fucking talk to me like I'm some child -"

"Then quit acting like one! Two years, Naruto. I had to pay my dues at work for two, maybe three years, then things will settle down. And you couldn't wait? Just because you chose to put your career on hold without even telling me doesn't mean I can do the same fucking thing!"

"I can't be with someone who is only married to their work, Sasuke! There had to be some middle ground. Normal people find a middle ground!"

"Oh, and how do you know? My parents worked like dogs their whole careers and got nowhere. Itachi works even longer hours than I do. Who do you know who has all this fucking free time? Kiba? He works for his goddamn sister! Most people have to put in their dues when they start a new job unless it's pumping fucking gas."

"There's a difference between pumping gas and not having any sort of life outside of work, Sasuke. But you aren't willing to try. You keep just talking about it getting better someday, but some day never comes and you just keep pushing the deadline out further and further. You don't really even try."

"How would you know whether I am trying, Naruto? Just because I don't shove it in your face when I leave a meeting early to come back to see you or try to cook you dinner doesn't mean it never happens. You're too busy running to Kiba to be here when I do try. You gave up on this relationship months ago Naruto. I was the one still trying, so don't give me that shit."

Naruto looked at him, clearly wondering what Sasuke was talking about but Sasuke would be damned if he told Naruto about the times he had tried and Naruto had brushed it off or hadn't been there. It would only make him look more pathetic about just how much Naruto had managed to blindside him with this. Which was something Sasuke would cut off his left arm before doing. So instead, he leaned back on the counter, a mocking sneer on his lips.

"So what's the plan now, Naruto? Was all that shit you told me about me being the only one who really understood you just a lie?"

Naruto swallowed harshly. "No it wasn't a lie. But that's the whole point, Sasuke. I was dating you, not your paycheck. But if you're never around, then I can't really do that. I want an actual boyfriend, not just help with the rent!"

"You really think you're going to find someone better?" Sasuke knew his words would piss Naruto off, and he wasn't surprised at Naruto's response.

"Better on paper? Probably not. But let's face it, Sasuke. We've only had sex once in like... three months. You're never home. And when you are, you're either working or too tired to do anything."

"There's more to a relationship than just sex. Except, evidently, for the past few months of ours, according to you."

"Yes. There is. Or at least there's supposed to be! But we don't have any of that either. You never talk to me. You keep your cell phone on even over the weekends for work, but you turn it off when you're there so I can't even get in touch with you when there's an emergency! It's pretty clear where your priorities are, Sasuke, and it sure as fuck isn't with me. Honestly, that's a pretty low bar in terms of finding a better boyfriend. I want an actual relationship. Not whatever the hell it is that we have anymore."

Sasuke felt a bitter anger at Naruto's words. If Naruto wanted to find someone else, then fuck him. Sasuke walked over to the kitchen, opening the cupboard and pulling out a bottle of Jameson. He was done.

"Fine. You want out? Then get the fuck out. No one's stopping you, Uzumaki."

Sasuke poured himself a drink, ignoring the way his hand shook.

"Sasuke -," Naruto's voice broke, but Sasuke didn't turn to look.

"I assume you already called Kiba. Like always, I'm sure he knew before I did. Too bad for you he's not gay."

Sasuke heard the sharp, angry intake of breath behind him and felt a surge of bitter pleasure in it.

"You are such a bastard." Naruto's low voice was almost a growl, and for once, the word held not a trace of affection.

Sasuke didn't bother to reply. There was nothing left to say. He heard Naruto get up, followed by a rustling sound that he assumed was Naruto putting his laptop in his bag. He could hear Naruto's harsh, shuddering breathing, but all Sasuke felt was cold. He took a sip from his glass, looking over at the light above the sink as he heard the zipper of Naruto's jacket. He could feel Naruto's eyes on him, but he had no desire to turn and meet that gaze again.

After a moment, he finally heard the soft click of the door closing.

Sasuke turned to look at the room, then. And finally realized what was missing. All of Naruto's camera equipment had already been packed up, before Sasuke had even gotten home.

There had never been a chance at solving this. Naruto had decided before Sasuke had even walked in the door.

Sasuke slammed his glass down on the kitchen counter, feeling it shatter beneath his hand, the shards of the glass piercing his flesh. He watched emotionlessly as the drops of blood from his hand blended in with the amber droplets of the liquid the glass had held. He could feel the alcohol burning the cuts, but he barely registered it.


to be continued…

A/N: So… we all know that our boys do NOT fight nice with each other. Yeah. And now hopefully it is clear why there will be SasuNeji and Naruto x Gaara for a little bit until they cool down and start thinking about what really happened and… all that. It will take a while. I will be doing time-skips, since this is a story focusing on Naruto x Sasuke and I will only add things in the other pairings as necessary to show their character development.

I heard Rob Thomas's song "Lonely no More" on the radio and I have decided that is Naruto's theme song in this fic. And Sasuke's might be "Me, myself and I" by G-Eazy.