A/N: I'm SO SORRY GUYS, ahhhhh I can't believe it's been so long since I've updated my precious fic! I've had a few of these scenes written for a while….and then I got a super awesome review this morning and that finally kicked me into gear, ehehe. Hopefully I can ride this wave of motivation and get another chapter out soon, too!
p.s. here's a pic that Letsura drew me a while ago! This is one potential future scenario, if our boys ever get their act together! Here is Sas with the tea that Narukins made him. ...Sas doesn't drink tea all that often ahaha. (and yes that is Naru's shirt, *wink*)
Sasuke said that he'd been seeing therapists pretty regularly for the past six years; he didn't necessarily like it, but he was used to it. For Naruto, it had only been three years, but he would never get used to it. Actually, he hated it. It wasn't just that you were stuck sitting still in a creepy, quiet room for like an hour, but the person sitting opposite you thought it was totally okay- that they had the right- to ask whatever question they liked. Nothing was off limits; how did Naruto feel about his parents, what was his sex life like, did he have nightmares. It was way too personal.
And he didn't have any choice in the matter; his case worker was an alright guy, really, but he wouldn't back down on the therapy issue. It was awful. They always tried to convince him that he was miserable, that he was sick, that he was angry. Why couldn't they just accept that he was fine? Maybe not great, but, it could be worse.
At least he was pretty good at getting therapists under his control; if they were men, it was easy, and it could be pretty entertaining as well. Then he'd get transferred to a new one, which sucked, but if he was lucky they wouldn't even get around to the heavy stuff before it was time to be transferred again.
But there was only so long he could delay this particular appointment before things would get serious. And so Sunday arrived, and not only did Sai drive Naruto to the clinic, he actually walked Naruto to the waiting room like he was a child- it was so embarrassing! And it wasn't like it was necessary. Everyone just needed to calm down; there were proper reasons why he'd missed those other sessions. It had nothing to do with the fact that this was a new councillor, and a woman.
The clinic was completely empty that morning; there no-one in the waiting room at all, and there wasn't even a receptionist behind the desk. Because it was a Sunday…? Wait, if the clinic wasn't open on Sundays, then why was he being made to come here?!
"Looks like it's closed," Naruto said to Sai when they stepped through the doors into the darkened waiting room. "Must have been some kind of mistake. Oh well. Hey, let's go get ice cream-"
"Naruto Uzumaki?" came a voice, and Naruto froze and spun around. Damn. There, standing on the opposite side of the room, was a truly terrifying-looking blonde woman.
"Uhh…" he muttered.
"I've been waiting for you," she went on. Was this her…? She certainly looked scary enough, with her hands on her hips and the ferocious gaze she was sending him.
"Uh…hi," he said, putting on a smile. "Yep, that's me! But anyway, it looks like the clinic's closed, so-"
"Let's get started," she boomed, stepping aside and raising an eyebrow at him.
Naruto gulped, and gave Sai a pleading look.
Sai just smiled. "I'll be waiting right here when you finish!" he said in that faux-cheerful voice of his, and he sat down and grabbed a cooking magazine from a table.
…traitor, Naruto thought to himself; friends don't leave other friends alone with new councillors who were clearly crazy.
"You better not make me wait a moment longer!" the woman boomed, and Naruto shuddered. "I will call you Naruto, and you can call me Tsunade," she went on.
Oh, this was not good, not good at all.
"Take a seat," the woman ordered, as she herded him into the room.
"Uh, okay," Naruto said, cautiously sitting down and having a quick look around the room for any obvious escape routes. "So, you're new in town?" he asked, giving her a shaky grin.
"Certainly not," she said back. "I'm a local. But we are not here to talk about me."
"Oh, well, we can talk about whatever we want-" Naruto attempted to say.
"And I'm sure we would get absolutely nowhere, discussing only things that you wanted to discuss," she interrupted him, as she took out a large folder stuffed with papers and a pen.
Naruto gulped again. The File. He'd actually tried to steal and burn it once, but apparently all the records got scanned into digital copies every now and then, so it wouldn't do any good. It was immortal, apparently, and one of his greatest enemies. He resisted the childish urge to glare at it.
"Now, tell me why you've been avoiding this session," she demanded, pen in hand, staring over at him like a hawk.
"I haven't," he said, forcing himself to relax and laze back on the chair. "I was unconscious, you know-"
"For the first time," she interrupted. "And the second and third time?"
"Well, you know," he said, thinking fast. What kind of excuses would this witch accept? "…things came up. I'm a very busy person."
"I'm sure you are. But as it turns out, the delay has given me even longer to go over your file," she said, and Naruto froze.
Ohh. That couldn't be good. The kinds of things in there…reports from old case workers and teachers and stuff. Truthfully, Naruto didn't exactly get along with authority figures and they didn't like him much so, he could only imagine the kinds of things that were written about him in there. And actually, he didn't have to imagine, some of his old councillors had quoted whole chunks of the reports to him, and they were pretty…unpleasant.
"Ahh, what do you mean?" he asked, trying not to sound panicked. "It's….it's entertaining, right, my life could be a movie-"
"Very entertaining," she interrupted. "Now, you and I are going to be seeing each other for a long time. How about we agree to try something new?"
Naruto blinked. "Like what?" he asked.
"Like you actually attend your scheduled sessions and take them seriously, and I don't act like a…let's see, what did you call your last female councillor…ah, a power-hungry bitch."
Naruto winced. Well, she had been! "I'm totally taking them seriously," Naruto objected, "it's just that I don't need them, and there's no point me even being here-"
"I see," Tsunade interrupted again, and Naruto scowled. "I hate to tell you this, young man, but I see every reason for you to be here. We'll start from the beginning, your time with your families-"
"They weren't families," Naruto grumbled, slumping back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest. Why anyone would want to spend a single second talking about those assholes was beyond him!
Tsunade frowned at the interjection and gave him a disapproving look. "Ah, so your earliest experiences of childhood and intimacy have had no impact on your current relationships? On how you interact with others?"
"No," Naruto answered sulkily. "…and there's nothing wrong with how I interact with others."
"We will discuss it nonetheless," the blonde witch said, making a note on her paper. Naruto scowled at that. Always making notes, these people. Why?! "And then move on to your time on the streets-"
"I've been over it a million times already!" Naruto protested. "Can't you just read what's in the file? This is a waste of time!"
"-and then we'll discuss your brief stint in juvenile hall before moving on to the home. And then-"
"And then that will do," Naruto growled. "There is absolutely no point in going over all this shit again-"
"Is that your roommate I saw out in the hall?" Tsunade asked, peering at him over her notes. "The one you met in the home?"
"So what if it is?" Naruto said, bristling. She should leave Sai out of this at least, what the hell did he do wrong?!
"The one who convinced your caseworker to have you released into his care."
"I'm not in his care," Naruto exclaimed, "we're roommates-"
"You're still designated a minor, by law," Tsunade pointed out. "You haven't been emancipated. He does have a supervisory role over you, regardless of what you call it."
"Yeah, so?" Naruto sulked. "What's the big deal? He's way better than any other asshole supervisor I've ever had, so I don't see why I have to-"
"Good," Tsunade said to that, shutting the file and placing it on the table in front of her. "That is very good to hear."
Naruto paused. …what? "Oh," he said, confused. "…well, good, because-"
"I'd say you're in a better position and living a better life now than you ever have before. Would you agree?"
Naruto frowned. Well, obviously! He could come and go as he pleased, no-one telling him what to do, he had an allowance now that no-one tried to spend for him, and no-one in this town even knew about his past. It was awesome. So what kind of stupid question was that?
"Obviously," he said to this crazy new councillor with a pout. "Everything's sunshine and roses."
"I believe you," Tsunade said to that, "you don't need to convince me."
"So why-"
"Do you really think that everything will stay sunshine and roses, if you don't address what you've been through? You've got demons, the same as anyone else. Only yours are significantly more- vicious, and you're ignoring them."
"I'm not," Naruto said, resisting the urge the growl and hiss at her. Demons? What was she on about? Naruto was fine, everything was great. He'd even be a proper adult soon and he could do whatever the hell he wanted, so what was the point of all this anyway?!
"I'd disagree. In any case, we'll have lots of time to discuss them in our sessions. No more of your old pattern, I think, dropping by maybe once a month when it suits you. We'll make regular sessions, and you will attend."
Naruto shrugged. Sure he would, absolutely. "Whatever. This year's halfway over anyway. And then I'll graduate, so-"
"Yes, well, with your current grades, I'm not sure that we can count on that happening this year," she said, picking up another pile from behind her, this one with the logo of his school on it.
Naruto stiffened. "Hey!" he retorted. "My grades aren't that bad! Give me a break, why don't you-"
"That's what I'm trying to do," she said, taking her eyes off the paper and staring at him. "I'm telling you exactly what you'll need to do, to complete my recommendations for your emancipation before the end of the year. And that includes getting these grades up, ASAP. You cannot afford to fail one single thing, do you understand that?"
Now he really did growl at her. "Yeah, yeah, fine, so I'll study for once. I don't see what any of this has to do with-"
"And according to the current arrangement, you only need to complete three more sessions with a councillor this year. That clearly won't be sufficient. You'll need sessions with me much more regularly," she informed him.
Naruto blinked. Uh…she couldn't do that, could she?! "I already agreed to all that stuff with my case worker!" he said. "I just have to graduate and then-"
"You'll come to see me once a week," she interrupted.
Once a week?! She couldn't be serious!
"What?!" he exclaimed, feeling himself start to panic. "I never come here that often! Why do I have to do that?!"
"Yes, I'm sure you don't see the need for it now. You will, soon enough. We'll be facing those demons of yours whether you like it or not."
Naruto glared at her. "…power-hungry bitch," he muttered under his breath.
She smiled widely at that, and Naruto cringed and wished very much that he could hide. That smile was the scariest thing he had ever seen. No, no, this was not happening, there was no way, she couldn't make him!
…as it turned out, she could make him. Naruto sulked the whole way home and hissed at Sai when he suggested they go out for ice-cream. No way was Naruto eating ice-cream with this jerk! He hadn't done anything to help defend him, he'd even agreed to the new session schedule!
The second they got home Naruto shot him a final glare and slammed his bedroom door behind him. This was ridiculous. He refused to spend any more time with that blonde witch, and he wasn't going to let anyone tell him he was sick. He wasn't going to spend one second more thinking about all the crap he'd been through, what was the point of dredging it all up again?!
Some people just wanted to make other people suffer. But no matter, he'd find a way out of it, he-
His phone beeped and he fished it out of his pocket. How'd it go, Sasuke had written.
…Sasuke.
Naruto slumped into bed and frowned. Sasuke had demons. And he hadn't seemed to care that Naruto was seeing a councillor as well. He hadn't even been surprised, like it wasn't that big of a deal. Like it didn't make him a freak.
And yet, if you believed what his witch of a councillor said, then Naruto had no chance of having a "healthy relationship" with anyone, so where did that leave him and Sasuke? …and actually…Itachi didn't think that highly of Naruto either.
He sulked into his sheets. So, maybe Naruto had some problems. Maybe his track-record with guys was not all that great. Maybe he didn't even know how to date someone, how to do things right. It wasn't right of that woman and even Itachi trying to scare him off like this, flashing his past at him, throwing terms like intimacy issues at him. He liked Sasuke, and Sasuke seemed to like him back, so-
…so…what if everything went wrong. What if it all went to hell. What if the same thing happened with him and Sasuke that had happened to literally every good thing that Naruto had ever had in his life?
Naruto sat at the bar downing his third beer whist re-reading Sasuke's one-line text for the thousandth time. He couldn't respond; he had no idea what to say. How did it go? It had gone horribly. How could Naruto face him with Tsunade's words in his head? How could he pretend that everything was okay when, apparently, he had hordes of 'vicious demons' inside him?
At least one thing was clear to him, though. Beer was not the answer. He needed something much, much stronger.
One hour and half a dozen shots later, Naruto was still miserable. He needed…he needed to turn his brain off for a while. Drinking wasn't enough. He needed a distraction. So he glanced around the bar, trying to find one.
Ohh, this is a bad idea, Naruto, he told himself. One thing he could always find very easily was a distraction, he could have a guy back in his bed in no time if he wanted. And there, over by the wall, staring right back at him. He was hot. Yes, quality distraction material. Skin-tight shirt. Pouty mouth. Dark, gleaming eyes. And his hair.
And the guy was looking right back at him, watching Naruto watch him, and giving him just the slightest come hither smile.
Oh yes, he would do nicely-
…shit, Naruto thought, snatching his phone and quickly typing out a text. SOS, he wrote to Ino, Phoenix Bar. NOW.
He fidgeted. The guy across the room turned slightly, in what was almost certainly an attempt to casually show himself off. They stared at each other for a few more long, heated moments, and Naruto downed another shot. Okay. Contact had been established. Naruto was pleasantly tipsy. Yes, it could be very pleasant, they could-
Sit tight, came a reply to his phone. If you touch anyone's dick I'll rip YOURS off.
Naruto winced. Unfortunately, however, the fear of this dire threat was quickly dulled thanks to all that lovely alcohol. …shit.
Naruto hummed happily, pushing himself further into the lovely boy he'd shoved against the wall in the hallway. He ran his hands down that skin-tight shirt and pressed his hips forward. The smaller boy groaned under him and kissed him harder, threading his hands through Naruto's hair and tugging down.
Mmm, yes, just the way Naruto liked it. He bit down on the boy's swollen bottom lip and got another moan out of him, and then he ran his hands lower to grip the back of his jeans. He shoved a knee between the boy's thighs to edge them apart, and then-
"NARUTO!" came a shrieking cry and Naruto jumped and turned. "Again?! You PROMISED me! We are so breaking up this time!"
"Oh," Naruto said, wincing. He snatched his hands away from the guy's ass and held them up in front of him. "Hi babe! Um, this isn't what it looks like, I was just-"
"I know what you were doing!" Ino shrieked, grabbing him by the ear and dragging him further off the boy. She cuffed the top of his head and then turned her attention to the smaller boy slumped on the wall. "You!" she hissed.
The poor thing wilted but then glared and pushed himself off the wall. "You have a girlfriend?!" the boy exclaimed, staring over at Ino with horror.
"Uh," Naruto began, "well, you know, I'm-"
"You're dead, that's what you are! I'm taking you home and reminding you that you're mine!" Ino grabbed his shirt and dragged him away from the boy, down the hall and out of the bar.
"I was just getting to the good part," Naruto whined at he was shoved into the passenger seat of Ino's car.
"You were about to lose your dick, that's what you were getting to!" Ino hissed at him. "What were you even doing there?! What about Sasuke?"
"What about Sasuke?" Naruto sulked, slumping against the door. "I'm just gonna mess it up. You said so yourself. So I might as well-"
"I said no such thing!" she interjected. "Just stop, stop talking, don't think about it when you're upset!"
"Can't help it," Naruto said with an unhappy groan, leaning into the cool air coming out of the air conditioner vents. "She said I have demons. That all my relationships are messed up cause I'm an orphan. That I-"
"I'll kill her for saying things like that to you!" Ino growled, glancing at him briefly before turning her attention back to the road. "Isn't she supposed to be an expert on you people?! Of course you're gonna get drunk and do something stupid if she upset you!"
You people? Naruto thought to himself. He pouted. And he didn't always get drunk and do stupid things when he was upset. He- he…
"I don't feel so good," he whimpered, slumping back on the seat.
"We'll be home soon, okay sweetie?" Ino said to him, reaching out a hand and patting his shoulder. "And then you can throw up all you like. Does that sound nice?"
"Yes," Naruto exclaimed, and he squeezed his eyes shut and desperately tried not to vomit inside Ino's brand-new car.
When he woke it was pitch-black in his room and there was a note stuck to his head. Naruto moved to switch on his lamp and groaned at the wave of nausea that overcame him. He pulled the note down so he could read it and scowled. Please stop drinking, moron, Ino had written. Call me later if you want to cry about Sasuke some more.
Some more? Naruto frowned. What had he even said about Sasuke? He narrowed his eyes and tried to remember what they'd talked about once he was done throwing up. He'd said something about all his relationships being doomed and who the hell would date someone who was in therapy once a week. And maybe something about being a whore and what if a certain someone found out just how many guys he'd had sex with-
-see? He hadn't said anything about Sasuke!
Biting back another groan he pushed himself up and reached for the water and aspirin that Ino had so thoughtfully left on his bedside table. An angel, that one, really.
He thought about life all the way through his shower, washing off the booze and vomit and whatever hideous scent that guy had been wearing. He thought about his past while he pawed through the piles of laundry on the floor to find some clean clothes. He thought about his future as he crawled back into bed still naked and pulled the sheets over himself. And then he called Ino
"I'm so sorry!" he cried the second she answered. "I'm a terrible friend!"
"Yeah, whatever," she said. "It's just vomit. It'll wash out."
Naruto winced and chose to ignore that. "Look, about Sasuke. I think I should just leave it. It's not a good idea, so, I'll just tell him we should, you know, just be friends or something."
There was silence on the other end of the phone and Naruto shifted awkwardly, waiting for her to speak again. To tell him that he was doing the right thing.
"And why would you do that?" she finally said. "You like him. And he likes you. I can tell."
Naruto frowned. He didn't think he'd need to argue with her about this. "I like him a lot. But Ino, I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll just mess up and hurt him. And I'll get hurt too. We'll both just be…hurt."
"Naruto," Ino growled into the phone. "Do you think people are born knowing how to create healthy relationships?"
He paused. "Ino-"
"Look, some people get lucky and grow up with healthy, happy, perfectly functioning relationships all around them to learn from. And yeah, those people have a head start. That doesn't mean that you can't be happy, Naruto!"
He was confused. But she herself had said that Naruto didn't know how to date. And his counsellor had said he had intimacy issues. And men all across town had called him a whore- usually as a complement, but still. "Ino, I have no idea what I'm doing here! It's just a bad, bad idea, I don't know why I ever thought I could do it!"
"Jeez, she really shook you up didn't she? Naruto, I'll help you. And Sai can probably kidnap a relationship specialist to teach you stuff. You're not alone!"
"Yeah, but-"
"And I know you probably don't like this woman. But she can help you too. It's her job. You've got problems, but she knows how to help you, okay? I'm not saying it'll be easy, but you can do it. Just- stop drinking, maybe."
Naruto bit his lip. "But Sasuke…Sasuke's different."
She paused. "Yeah, okay. Yes, he is. So we'll go slow. Maybe don't sleep with him after the first date. Maybe actually talk to him."
"We already had our first date," Naruto retorted, pouting into the phone. Hell, he'd even asked Itachi- in front of Sasuke- for permission! "And we didn't have sex. See? I have self-control."
"I'm sure you do," Ino soothed. "And I think you have to accept that it's not gonna smoothly. But date him anyway. It'll be great, for a while. And then you'll fight and scream at each other and threaten to break up. And then you'll make up- and hey, that's a whole new kind of sex for you to look forward to-"
"Ino!" Naruto growled. "I don't wanna fight with him and break up! That would be awful!"
"Well, yeah, of course," Ino said back. "It happens, though. Sorry sweetie. It's a fact of life."
"I'll hurt him," he sulked. "I don't wanna do that."
"Just…don't make any decisions about it right now, okay? And maybe you should talk to Sasuke about it first. Maybe actually ask for his opinion on if you should date him. This kinda concerns him as well, you know."
Naruto glared into the phone. "I know that," he said.
"Good. Look, it's late. Let's talk about it after we've both had some sleep. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah. Okay. Um…thanks for rescuing me, Ino," he said.
"Any time," she said back, and they hung up.
Naruto lay in his bed, staring up at the roof. It was morning and he knew he had to get up and get ready, but his desire to do that was at, literally, negative 100%.
It seemed to him that his life had been made of a series of choices, and he had almost always picked the wrong one. It's not like he wanted to feel sorry for himself, or that he thought nothing in his life was his own fault. It was more like…the thought of making yet more decisions was just exhausting.
Coming to school today? he'd texted Sasuke just now, and Sasuke had quickly responded. He had classes at uni in the morning, and then he was coming school. Well, that explained why he wasn't around all the time.
He sighed and pushed himself up and out of bed. He was exhausted. But if there was one thing Naruto was good at, it was hiding that exhaustion. Other people didn't need to know about that shit. It was his own business, his own thoughts and feelings. Naruto rubbed his heavy eyes and forced a smile onto his face, before heading out into the apartment to face the day. Today he'd see Sasuke, and then…and then, who knew.
A/N: Yes, Tsunade certainly DID shake Naruto up! She's definitely not like Sas's nice, warm, hippy councillor. But this is probably what poor in-denial Narukins needs, even if it won't be pleasant. Ahhhhhhhh I just wanna get to the smooching but let's face it, our two boys have a few more issues to work out!
Let's hope I get the next chapter written before toooooo long. Let me know what you thought of this one! And if you have any predictions about what might happen in the future, ehehe!
