Has anyone ever read 'Naked Lunch' by William S. Burroughs? You all should.
Aqui teneis vos el sexto capitulo.
C H A P T E R S I X
They rounded the corner onto the gum-stained sidewalk, approaching the awning-shaded entrance to the diner. It boasted a homey 'open' sign hanging on the inside of the glass and two potted ficus bushes flanking each side of the door like leafy sentinels. Naruto unclasped his hands with a sigh and flopped his arm onto the handle, heaving the door open heavily and following after the black-clad Sasuke into the air conditioned comfort of the diner. An electronic buzzer signaling their entrance chimed quietly behind them as the door swung closed, shutting out the noises of the passing cars and the activity of the congested city road.
The diner was well lit with the brightness of the day flooding through a row of uncurtained windows facing the street, one each to a neat booth with red plastic cushioning. The tiles were checkered retro and framed black-and-whites of Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando lined the gentle pink sides of the room. A counter ran before most of back wall; behind it an open doorway and a steel service window, little white order slips fringing the lintel, provided glimpses into the kitchen. Sasuke hovered uncertainly in the entranceway, slouching as he scowled at a pair of old women with teased hair and browning bagging faces that had looked up vaguely from their tinkling silverware and coffees at the two newcomers. Farther down, in the corner, sat a thin balding man poring over a Chinese newspaper through thick glasses. The place was slow and no-nonsense, apathetically old-fashioned—and the regulars were loyal because of it.
"Come on."
Sasuke turned at the light tap to his arm; Naruto was motioning with his head towards an empty table on the other side of the entrance. He followed to the booth and sat sullenly on the cheaply cushioned seat, watching as Naruto lowered himself down with much bustle across from him, practically rubbing his hands together in cheery anticipation. He sucked on his lower lip and awarded Sasuke a raise of the eyebrows as if to say "Well, here we are." The sun cut brightly across one side of Naruto's face, luring out myriad flecks of lighter tones in his hair and throwing the other half of his features into slightly cooler shades. His eyes were half-lidded as he gazed down with mild interest at the salt and pepper shakers, reaching out a hand to lazily align them so that one guarded each side of the napkin dispenser, their reflections indistinct and distorted in the metallic exterior.
Naruto noticed the laminated colorful brochure jutting up at an angle from the wire holder behind the dispenser and grabbed it. It was the lunch menu so he opened it and laid it out flat on the table before him, eyes running thoughtfully down the different options. "So what are you getting?" he asked Sasuke without looking up.
Sasuke had been dolefully studying the female employee behind the counter working the business-grade espresso machine, a big hulking affair in drab stainless steel. He couldn't say much more for the woman. His eyes spun back to Naruto at the query, lips pulled into a frown. "How long is this going to take?" he shot back touchily.
Naruto glanced up, a smile threatening at his mouth, and shrugged. Crossing his arms Sasuke glared out the window, squinting a little and clearly unamused, so Naruto leaned back comfortably into the back of his seat with a true smile now and lightly kicked Sasuke's foot under the table. "Hey," he called, aiming for the other's boy attention. Sasuke whipped his head back and scowled dangerously but Naruto simply smirked. "We've still got like six hours, okay? Chill, we'll find it."
Sasuke's scowl wavered and he avoided Naruto's gaze, glancing out the window again and looking oddly resentful. "You can't be sure of that," he muttered dourly.
"Sure I can!" Naruto insisted, deepening his voice pompously like he was taking on the character of a genial old Englishman. "I have faith in us!" he rallied, slapping a hand down on the table top.
Sasuke's eyes roved back to Naruto's face in mild incredulity before he smirked, breaking out into quiet snickers. "You're an idiot," he announced conclusively. Naruto grinned.
Sasuke sighed, eyes still slightly creased in amusement, and he too leaned back into his seat, running his eyes musingly around the calm and comfortable interior of the diner. "So…where were we sitting last night?" he asked Naruto, looking back across the table at him. Naruto had returned to his detailed study of the menu, but looked up at the question.
"Um…" he seemed strangely sheepish. He peered over his shoulder at the booths running down the side wall that led to the restrooms. "Well I was sitting over in that last booth with, um, Gaara and Hinata and Kiba," he answered. "You were sitting in the next booth where that couple is, with Sakura and Ino I think."
Sasuke stared, meeting Naruto's eyes questioningly once he had turned back (Why the hell would I sit with Sakura and Ino?). Naruto looked uncomfortable and slightly unhappy; he simply shrugged and frowned at the table. After a moment he leaned an elbow on its surface and slowly turned his head again to idly observe the couple sitting by the wall. "I suppose unless you feel like asking them to move, we'll just have to wait until they leave before we take a look around," he deliberated, tugging absently at his earlobe.
Sasuke followed Naruto's gaze silently. It was a young couple, the girl pretty and primly dressed in a pencil skirt and pumps, the guy in slacks and a pale blue button-up with the arms casually rolled up; they were probably out for a mini-date on their lunch break from office jobs. She was digging into a salad, he into a rice and chicken as they talked animatedly or nodded as they chewed, eyeing each other brightly over their drinks. What most stood out about them, though, was how simply and blatantly happy they were. The way she would laugh vivaciously at the odd comment, and the way he leaned forward and really looked at her through the shaggy auburn hair that framed his brow told it all.
Naruto seemed lost in thought as he stared. Sasuke scowled, somewhat annoyed with the scene, and once again bestowed his brooding glare on the window, watching the cars and pedestrians pass by from beyond his dim, suspended reflection. He glanced again at Naruto after a moment; the other boy had turned back in the meantime and was now slouching pensively over the menu, biting his lip. A silence passed with Sasuke patiently scanning Naruto's downturned face. He looked straight up at Sasuke suddenly, starting a little when he realized Sasuke was already staring back. "Uh…" he opened his mouth as if to say something, brows creased slightly, but just at that moment a waitress appeared next to their table wearing an unflattering pink uniform and an equally unflattering expression of boredom.
"Welcome to Rosalie's Diner, may I take your orders," she droned in the direction of her notepad, completely lacking any inflection or impetus whatsoever. She glanced up vapidly but when her gaze fell on the surly Sasuke the transformation that subsequently overcame her entire demeanor was almost laughable. "Or I could come back later if you're not ready yet? I'd recommend the steak myself, they're coming out just…delicious today," she purred brightly with a glowing smile, eyes trained on Sasuke who was under the distinct impression that she had decided that he was the only one at the table.
Naruto was glaring attentively between the two, mouth hanging slightly open. "Um," he coughed suddenly, "He's not interested!" The waitress turned to him with a sneer of vague disgust.
"Excuse me?"
"No, I mean...." Naruto rushed to amend, waving his hand and looking bashful. "What I meant was, he's not interested in the steak. He'll just…be having a drink. Right, Sasuke?" He chuckled weakly and rubbed the back of his head, sending Sasuke a silent, pleading look. Sasuke caught it and smirked ominously.
"What on earth are you going on about, Naruto?" he drawled smoothly, looking up at the waitress with a charming smile that caused her to practically combust on the spot. "You know, I think I will be having that steak, uh, Melissa," he squinted at her name tag. "Thank you so much for your recommendation," he finished, eyeing her with a seductive little upward twist to his lips.
"Um!" she squeaked, scribbling on her notepad and blushing furiously. "Anything to go with that?"
"Oh," he gracefully tossed his bangs out of his face with another smirk. "Whatever usually goes with the steak, Melissa," he replied pleasantly. "I'll let you decide."
"Drink?" Poor Melissa asked breathlessly. She seemed to be progressively losing her command of the English language.
"Coffee, black," Sasuke answered with a warm hint of good humor in his voice. He was struggling to avoid glancing at the look of horror nailed to Naruto's face—it would ruin his act.
"It'll be just a moment!" Melissa peeped, red as a tomato now, and turned on the spot to make her way to the kitchen.
"Hey!" Naruto called irately after her, "Melissa!" She paused and looked around at her name, apparently startled to see someone else sitting at the table. "Yeah, and I'll be having the double cheeseburger, no tomatoes, no pickles, extra sauce, with a side of fries but hold the salt, a small Caesar but no croutons—I hate those things—and a Diet Pepsi! Why don't you write that down on your little notepad!" The waitress scowled and scribbled something extremely brief on the pad before resuming her way behind the counter. Naruto glared intensely after her for a minute but then whirled back to fume to at the still smirking Sasuke, gripping his hands on the edge of the table and leaning forward angrily. "What the hell are you doing, Sasuke?" he whispered harshly. "What the fuck happened to 'I'm not really hungry and you can just eat while I look around for my ring?'"
Sasuke stared back without flinching. "I'm not hungry. Would you like my steak, Naruto?" he asked in smug politeness.
Naruto growled in response, pointing a finger accusingly across the table. "You're a fucking sadistic, show-off, egotistical bastard, you know that?" he hissed. "You don't even like…you know! But you go and lead them on whenever you're bored or whatever, just because you can since you're Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Fuck-Me! That's unfair! Give everyone else a goddamn chance!"
Sasuke drummed his fingers innocently on the table top, cocking an eyebrow at the outburst and trying not to burst out laughing. "Why, Naruto," he stated, "Are you…jealous?"
Naruto pushed back from the table like it was burning coal and crossed his arms, scowling and quite suddenly wanting to withdraw from the conversation he had initiated. "Of you?" he responded after a second with a quavering laugh in his voice. "Hell no." He was glaring over at the kitchen, avoiding Sasuke's searching eyes.
"Naruto…" Sasuke ventured thoughtfully. "I never specified of whom."
Naruto's eyes shot back warily to Sasuke's face, looking abruptly frightened of something. "What?"
Sasuke didn't clarify, instead taking in Naruto's face with a calm and coldly analytical gaze. He shrugged and observed the fake granite pattern of the table top. "Obviously, I was just messing around Naruto. You don't like her do you?" he glanced up with a small trace of disgust in his tone, raising his brows expectantly.
Naruto eyed him cautiously. After a while he shook his head tiredly. "No, I don't like her."
Sasuke smirked. "Well then. What's all the fuss about?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and whipped a napkin out the dispenser moodily. "Look, just drop it, alright?" He proceeded to angrily and gradually rip the paper into shreds, piece by piece and apparently taking comfort in his methodical destruction. Eventually Naruto had a little pile of white wispy scraps on the table before him. He looked up to see if there were any signs of their food arriving soon; negative—so he took a second napkin and commenced to deliver the same treatment. Sasuke, for his part, leaned his head back on his seat and gazed languidly out the window, not bothering to fix the bangs that had fallen over his eyes.
After some minutes of relatively bearable silence the waitress finally returned with their orders, making quite a show setting down the steak and mashed potatoes before Sasuke along with his coffee and a flirty smile that dropped confusedly when she realized that Sasuke, for some unfathomable reason, was no longer even glancing at her. She turned to Naruto sulkily. "And your cheeseburger," she muttered at him, shoving the pile of napkin shreds aside with the plate so that half of it fell into Naruto's lap. "Oops sorry." She had fallen back to the standard drone and bored expression, setting down the soda and two sets of eating utensils before mumbling, "Enjoy," and stalking off with the tray.
Sasuke reached for his steaming mug and took a sip, observing stoically as Naruto frowned at his lap and began picking off the napkin shreds and dropping them quite deliberately and visibly onto the floor next to the table, muttering under his breath. Sasuke then had another sip of coffee, impassive still, as Naruto took a tentative bite of his burger and grimaced, setting it back down on the plate "Bitch put extra pickles! What the fuck!" he growled to himself, peeling off the top bun and carefully picking out the pickles with his fingers, occasionally dropping one onto the floor instead of his plate, then repeating the process for the second layer. He looked endearingly put out.
"So do you want my steak?" Sasuke asked, eyeing him amusedly over his third sip.
Naruto glanced up sourly and shook his head. "No thanks," he muttered.
"Mashed potatoes?" Sasuke prodded, his amusement now audible in his voice.
"Fuck you, Sasuke."
Sasuke shrugged and smirked, taking his fourth sip. "We should've asked her whether someone had turned in my ring," he mused after a while.
"Maybe you should call her back. I bet she'd love that," Naruto mumbled bitterly over a mouthful of cheeseburger, tetchily stabbing a fry with his fork.
Sasuke sniggered out loud at that and smirked at the window.
"What?"
"Hm?" Sasuke turned back innocently, brows raised in question.
"What the hell are you laughing at, you bastard?"
"Nothing!" Sasuke assured, ignoring the laugh that escaped his mouth with the word and glancing around in mock confusion. \
Naruto scoffed and returned to his burger. "Whatever," he mumbled.
Sasuke watched Naruto chew his bulging bite of burger and swallow it down with a swig of Pepsi. After the burger he moved on to the fries, which apparently hadn't been sabotaged by the kitchen. "So…" Naruto started in an oddly serious tone after a minute, swallowing and poking at a fry or two. He glanced up severely at Sasuke. "How long is Itachi staying for?"
Sasuke overcame his slight shock at the sudden change of subject, exhaling and letting his eyes run down the counter along the opposite wall. "Uh, like a few days," he answered cautiously. "He can't take much time off work."
Naruto nodded over a mouth of fries. "Yeah I've noticed. You haven't seen him in like what, two years?"
"Something like that," Sasuke muttered.
Naruto scanned Sasuke's face carefully, apparently searching for words. He settled for, "You okay? With seeing him today, I mean?"
Sasuke snorted and looked away again, his permanent scowl back in place. "Who are you? Freud? I'm fine."
"No, I'm just asking. I mean, you were pretty pissed when he just up and left. Especially since…since your parents…"
Sasuke turned a fierce glare on Naruto's slightly concerned face. "Look, I know what happened, alright? It's not like we haven't talked since; he calls me once in a while, etcetera. I'm fine."
"Alright, fine," Naruto appeased, lifting his brows as he gazed down at his plate with a minute shake of the head and bit off another fry. "Don't worry Sasuke. I know better than anyone, alright, that you don't need mothering. You've been able to deal with a whole mess of other shit, so you can probably deal with this too." He looked up, chewing. "But still. I had to ask." He shrugged.
Sasuke didn't respond, instead watching with a sullen frown as Naruto casually continued eating.
"Does he know?" Naruto spoke up again, grabbing for his glass and observing Sasuke over the rim as he took a gulp of Pepsi.
"Know what?"
"You know…" Naruto rolled his eyes and waved his hand around vaguely.
"…That I'm gay?" Sasuke drawled, blasé.
"Yeah. Does he know?"
Sasuke sighed and reached out to straighten his knife so it was more perfectly parallel to the fork. "No, he doesn't."
"Are you going to tell him?"
Sasuke looked up at Naruto who was disinterestedly observing the textured pattern on the glass, not meeting Sasuke's eyes. "I don't know," Sasuke replied, wincing as he imagined a possible future scenario in which he admits his sexuality to his brother. To Itachi. "Probably not," he continued. "I don't see the point—how the fuck is it any of his business anyway?"
"Uh, he's your brother?" Naruto suggested mildly. "Maybe he should know something that important about you. It'd be better to tell him now than pop the news when, you know, you're in something serious…"
Sasuke glumly contemplated Naruto's plate, more empty now than full. "He's not much a brother," he muttered almost inaudibly, but Naruto heard him anyway.
"Nevertheless," Naruto stressed, pointing a limp fry at Sasuke in half-serious admonishment, a smile skirting his lips.
Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto downed the fry in one bite and a grin. He sat pensively for a moment before placing his elbows on the table and hunching forward impatiently, his food untouched. "You done yet?" he asked.
Naruto shrugged and frowned. "We don't have to talk about Itachi if you don't want to, Sasuke," he grumbled, looking down at the last of his fries.
"No, I mean with your food, dumbass."
"Oh…I guess." Naruto glanced up. "Why?"
"Because that couple just left. We should go."
Naruto grinned impishly. "Well, get the check."
"Why me? I didn't eat." Sasuke objected irately.
"A, not my problem; B, the waitress hates me; C, I'm dirt poor; and D, I got breakfast." Naruto spun off quickly in response, smiling triumphantly when Sasuke scoffed and glared at his cold steak but didn't answer. Naruto craned his head around looking for the waitress in question, spotting her near the other end of the diner carrying an empty tray, and commenced waving in assumed merriment and good humor to catch her attention. She glanced up and frowned, making her way to their table and glowering at the little mess of napkin shreds and pickles on the floor.
"The bill, please," Naruto announced, sending her an overly-polite, sardonic smile.
She scowled, deciding to ignore the mess, instead asking blandly, "Will that be separate or together?" Turning towards Sasuke, she noticed his obviously untouched plate. "Oh, was there something wrong with your order? If there was, we can deduct it from your bill of course," she fussed sweetly.
Sasuke smirked. "Oh no, the steak was absolutely delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The bill," he echoed, "—together, please."
"Uh…" the waitress floundered, looking confused. "Yes, the bill. That will be just a moment." And she left.
Naruto sniggered in her wake. "Dumb bitch," he muttered. Sasuke tried not to laugh at him.
She returned soon with the little black book, handing it to Sasuke with one last shy smile before leaving again. Sasuke ignored her, digging a few bills out of his wallet disinterestedly and throwing them inside the book with a bored glance at the receipt. He paused and snorted, though, sneaking a quick glance at Naruto who was busy downing the rest of his Pepsi.
"What?" Naruto asked, not having missed the look.
Wordlessly, Sasuke held up the receipt so Naruto could read it, watching with a knowing smirk as the blue eyes scanned the paper up and down. Suddenly, Naruto choked on air and stiffened.
"Her number? She gave you her number?" he hissed incredulously, looking up and around to see if he could spot the little wench. Unfortunately, she had made herself scarce.
"It would appear so," Sasuke replied amusedly, eyes trained on Naruto.
"Gimme that!" Naruto ripped the receipt out of Sasuke's hand, sounding like a mother scolding her child for playing with something filthy it had found on the street.
Sasuke laughed, arching a brow. "You don't want it, do you?"
"Fuck that!" Naruto yelped indignantly, ripping off the corner of the receipt infected by the tidy scrawl and the little 'heart Melissa.' He shredded it roughly into miniscule pieces and let them flutter slowly down to add to the mess already on the floor in the white dying haze of a girl's pathetic dreams. "Let's go," he grumbled, throwing down the rest of the receipt onto the table and scooting his way out the seat, but not before pushing all the remaining shreds of napkin that hadn't found their way to the floor the first time around to their rightful location.
Sasuke snorted and stood up as well, stepping gingerly around the puddle of pickles n' things and stretching a little. He shoved his hands in his jeans and made his way purposefully over to the second to last booth on the side wall where the couple had been sitting earlier, and where he apparently had been sitting the night before. It still hadn't been wiped down; the table was littered with plates piled up with half-eaten food, dirty silverware and used napkins. Grains of rice and bread crumbs were strewn carelessly about the gray surface. Sasuke glossed over the area grimly, looking up with a frown when Naruto came up beside him. "Go ask the lady behind the counter if anyone turned in my ring," he said.
Naruto rolled his eyes at Sasuke's tone and swiveled on the spot, muttering, "Yessir." As he left to carry out his given duty Sasuke crawled onto one of the seats on his knees, checking the indent between the seat and back cushions with his fingers as he had in Hokage's. On the second seat he thought he had found something but it turned out to be only a bottle cap when he pulled it out. Supporting himself by an elbow, he craned his head under the table and scanned the floor: a lot of dust, some old food, and a straw wrapper—but no ring. He sighed and backed out of the seat, ignoring the strange stares he was receiving from a frumpy middle-aged woman at a window booth.
When he straightened up and turned around he saw that Naruto was walking slowly towards him, eyebrows raised and lips pursed; Sasuke could immediately tell he hadn't had any luck either.
"She said no one had mentioned anything about it, but that if it turns up, she'll call. I left her your number," he announced with a grin when he had reached the spot where Sasuke was slouching dully and scanning the nearby tables just to be certain his ring wasn't there. "She kinda seemed happy about that when I pointed out who you were…" he continued, pretending to bemusedly contemplate why that might be. At Sasuke's disgusted grimace he chuckled. "Then again, it might just have been because all we could see of you at the moment was your tight little ass poking inconspicuously out of a wall booth." He gave an exaggerated wink and made a saucy 'ok' sign with his hand.
Sasuke almost gagged. "Hulky espresso machine woman? Her?"
Naruto tried to hide his grin but failed miserably. "Yeah," he nodded, laughter riddling his voice but then he dropped it to a conspiratorial whisper. "Her name is Marge, and you know, she doesn't look half bad for a fifty year old…"
Sasuke roughly pushed him away at the mental image in horror, ignoring the rude chortles Naruto was letting off. "Dude I'm just playing with you," he wheezed out, still laughing, "You should see your face!" After a second or so something seemed to have passed through his mind, however, because he abruptly sobered and gave Sasuke a concerned sort of stare. "I did actually give her your number though."
Sasuke shrugged irritably, still slightly traumatized. "Whatever. Maybe she'll find it," he muttered and started making his way to the door. "Let's get out of here before your little friend Melissa comes sneaking back for a lock of my hair or something…"
Naruto laughed out loud at that and trailed after Sasuke towards the entrance, pausing while the other boy pushed open the door then stepping outside to observe the busy street, squinting in the sunlight. Sasuke exited behind him and immediately started his making way back to the lot in the direction from whence they had come.
Naruto made to follow but paused suddenly, rubbing his neck. "Uh…Sasuke! Wait, come back!"
Sasuke paused and turned around, a confused scowl on his face. "What for?"
"No, I just want to check something. Come on," he replied, walking backwards to make sure Sasuke was following and then swiveling on the spot and moving towards the other end of the diner, out from under the awning and past the sun-bleached bricks and dusty windows of the building. Cars zoomed by.
He paused and stared down a narrow space between the diner and the dilapidated apartment high-rise next to it. Sasuke paused next to him, peering into the shadowed gap completely obscured by darkness except for the bright thin glimpse of the parking lot at the other end. It was fenced off a few feet in, creating a small inlet of space off the sidewalk occupied by a grimy, unattended trashcan and other indeterminate litter. It stunk vaguely of urine.
"Fascinating," Sasuke commented after a moment of silence.
Naruto scoffed, looking around carefully at the concrete underneath their feet. "Your ring might be around here, genius. Probably not though…" he looked up at Sasuke's dubious expression.
"What the hell was I doing here?" Sasuke asked, grimacing at some pale stains on the ground inchoately reminiscent of primordial slime and wondering if he really wanted to know.
"To put it nicely, you were puking your guts out."
Sasuke hastily stepped back a foot or two, wincing in disgust. "Ugh, what the fuck!" He glared at the condemning evidence on the ground; apparently he had aimed for the trashcan and missed by a foot or two. "Fuck this, let's go. It's not here." He fiercely denied to himself that the heat he felt running up his face had to do with anything but the goddamn sun.
Naruto was laughing at him, eyes shining with amusement. "What's that saying?" he snickered, jauntily propping himself up against the rough bricks of the apartment building. "You can't chug your booze and keep it down too, or something?"
"Fuck you," Sasuke muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets and starting to turn away from the scene of the crime. "It's not here, so let's go."
Naruto chuckled and pushed off from the wall, catching up with Sasuke's incensed stride. "I'm just messing with you, man. You drank enough shots to down a horse—I was actually surprised you hadn't gone and puked all over yourself before that…"
"Just shut up, moron!"
…[The previous night]…
The night was unnaturally cold. Sasuke needed very much to know where they were. He stumbled out of the car and tripped on the curb. Why were they at a diner? He wasn't hungry. And also, where was Naruto? Sakura was right next to him again, pushing him into the diner. "Gaara had to park in the back," she was saying. Oh right. Naruto was in Gaara's car.
Inside it was bright and pink and the ceiling lights glowed yellow in the night and suddenly they were sitting at a table. Sasuke leaned his head against the wallpaper and breathed deeply, staring closely at the subtle pattern. His stomach was tight again with all the whiskey. Ino was smiling at him. Mona Lisa. And they were laughing still. Who the fuck knows what they were talking about.
A waitress was standing at their table. Sasuke didn't order anything, he couldn't even open his mouth. Didn't have control over those muscles right now. There were menus? Sakura was talking to her. And Naruto was walking into the diner behind the waitress and he wasn't looking at Sasuke again. Kiba and Gaara were there also and that girl Hinata and they sat at the table behind them. Loud loud loud. Sasuke couldn't talk anymore. His eyes fell closed suddenly and immediately he was falling, the tightness in his stomach spiraling out of control and everything was tilting. And then he was lifting his head off the table and there was food in front of him. Sakura had ordered for him. He had moved too fast and the tight feeling was back, his throat was blocked up and tense and his head was swimming. Get up, get up. Sasuke pushed past Sakura and stumbled, stumbled. He was at the glass door where the dark, smog-hued sky loomed and pushed outside into the chilly sharp dry night. God that was the worst feeling in the world in his gut and the air helped some but still. To the left. Not in front of the restaurant. He staggered and there was a little space between buildings—concrete and damp air and soggy trashy weeds—and his insides were pressing down on him and building up and he couldn't breath at all, his stomach was straining drunkenly, painfully. He threw up three times into the dark. When he looked up again, wiping his mouth and gasping and hating the sick, foolish taste in his mouth, Naruto was there. He was there. Naruto.
"Hey," Naruto said. He smiled a little smile but his eyes were still hard. Sasuke stared blankly. "Everything okay?"
Sasuke swayed on the spot. "Yeah," he answered. His voice felt thick. "Fine." Naruto stared and laughed a little.
"I can tell," he said.
Sasuke turned away and stared at his vomit. Naruto laughed again.
Naruto was closer now, wasn't he. So Sasuke looked up. So close.
He breathed in sharply. Naruto.
There was a hand running down his face; Naruto looking concerned, brows furrowed and really close and whispering loudly into the boulevard night. "You're really drunk Sasuke. Sure you're okay? I'll drive you to your apartment…"
Sasuke shook his head into the fingers, slowly. "M'okay."
Naruto peered at him carefully. "Sure?"
"I said yeah."
Naruto drew his hand back a little. His dark dark blue eyes flickered to and fro on Sasuke's face. "Whatever, jerk," he murmured appeasingly. "We're going to Gaara's after, just so you know." Sasuke stared and then looked up into the sky thoughtfully. "Looking at the stars?" Naruto asked, glancing up with his hands in his pockets, shivering coolly in the darkness.
"What stars?" Sasuke slurred after a minute. Naruto shrugged and was staring when Sasuke turned to him. "I'm sorry," Sasuke said for no reason at all. He really was drunk. Drunk drunk. He almost swayed forward.
Naruto shrugged again and looked towards the street. Avoiding Sasuke's eyes and hands in his pockets.
"Whatever," he said. "It's not important."
Sasuke couldn't even remember what it was he was sorry about. It was quiet now. No cars. All quiet. Only Sasuke was still breathing a foot from Naruto. Still standing there and no reason, really, to move away. Breathing and breathing once again. Blue eyes turning back to him a dark sea in the alley night.
The hand was back on Sasuke's cheek now, moving silently, silkily back and forth. Sasuke breathed in deeply and closed his eyes to the hand. He couldn't help it. Gentle and soft and warm and unlike anything.
A car pulled up to the diner, loudly rumbling and sudden. The window was rolled down and Neji's face was leaning into in the space. He looked questioningly at Naruto and Sasuke. "Is Hinata inside?" he asked worriedly without intro.
Naruto had pulled away rapidly. "Yeah , she is!" he yelled back. Mask on. "Thanks for coming, I didn't think we'd be able to reach you!"
Neji pulled into a newly empty spot in front of the diner. Naruto was walking away and Sasuke followed. Talking to Neji about something. "Jackass…E… Hinata and Sasuke…etc…." was what Sasuke caught. Neji was staring at him stangely. Thye walked into the diner, where it was warm and bright and went to where their friends were against the wall. Hinata smiled vacuously when she noticed Neji. "Hi!" she said happily. Sasuke sat down on his seat next to Sakura. He was tired and Sakura was staring at him. Neji and Hinata left after a while, his arm around her shoulder protectively. She was giggling again.
Sasuke closed his eyes.
Naruto had him by the arm now. They were walking out of the diner, and still the fucking laughing. He didn't fucking need it, didn't they see? Didn't want any of it. All he fucking needed was—
Sasuke's plate of food was left intact.
-------------
They walked tenderly in the silent heat to Sasuke's Mazda. If they moved too quickly in the sluggish, burning torridity, they could catch on fire. Sasuke squinted up at the angular edges where brick multistories met blue sky. Mercilessly blue geometric cuts of sky.
Sasuke knew this type of heat had nothing to do with anonymous vomit on sidewalks. The heat of the Southwest is the type that swelters around you and beats you into the withering ground.
"The convenience store is up three blocks, on Willow Creek," Naruto informed the asphalt.
Sasuke took out his keys and unlocked the car.
I bid thee review, ye knaves.
--nostratic.
Postscript: I am listening to Portishead.
