When the SUV pulled up to the street Sasuke lived on, the driver got out first to remove Naruto's things from the trunk. Without looking back at him, Sasuke got out of the car next, so Naruto followed. He took his belongings from the driver and waited nearby on the sidewalk after thanking him. Sasuke exchanged a few words with the driver and then they shook hands.
While waiting, Naruto gazed up at the sky, the snowflakes falling into his hair and eyelashes. It was a verifiable winter wonderland out here. The street was layered in what had to be nearly six inches of snow. A tiny snowflake landed on his cheek, and he wiped it away with his gloved hand.
As the car pulled away, Sasuke walked over to him, expression entirely unreadable. He met the dark-haired man's gaze nonetheless.
"Let's go inside," Sasuke said and led the way up the stairs to the front entrance.
Naruto picked his suitcase up and carried it to the stoop, waiting quietly while Sasuke punched the code into the keypad. He held the door open for Naruto to come inside. They both stomped the snow off of their boots before heading up the next flight of stairs.
Even though Sasuke wasn't saying anything, there wasn't any tension or awkwardness - at least not on Naruto's part. If anything, Sasuke simply seemed preoccupied with his thoughts, and Naruto felt it right to leave him alone. For now anyway. They reached the door to the apartment and Sasuke, pulling up corner of the doormat, removed a key.
"Deidara left this for you," Sasuke explained. "In case you'd changed your mind." He unlocked the door and went inside the apartment without waiting for him.
Naruto paused at the threshold but, remembering the cat, made his way inside so that he could close the door. Leaning against the wall, he lifted his boots to unlace them and set them next to the mat. Sasuke had already done the same and was, apparently, in the kitchen getting something out of one of the cabinets. Why was he so fascinated by this person?
Naruto remained by the door as if awaiting direction. In the meantime, it seemed Sasuke found what he was searching for - a giant bag of cat food - and proceeded to fill the small porcelain cat bowl, which he set on the floor.
It was as if he wasn't even aware of Naruto's presence. That, or he was really good at ignoring him. While Sasuke was putting the cat food away, Naruto went to the kitchen and leaned against the island counter.
Finally, Sasuke glanced his way, ran his eyes slowly down and then up to where he met Naruto's gaze.
"Hang your coat in the closet," he said. "You can have Deidara's room."
Then, Sasuke moved away from him and headed for the stairs.
Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "Sasuke!"
With his foot only on the second step, Sasuke turned to him. "What is it?
"...Where are you going?"
Walking over to the stairs, Naruto could clearly see a visible bruise on Sasuke's left cheek. Once again, all of the same questions began flooding his brain, but he knew that if he pushed Sasuke too far, he'd close off.
Sasuke sneered and continued up the stairs. "To take a bath," he said. "I'm tired."
Naruto followed him but soon stopped. "Wait. Do you...?"
Sasuke had paused again and was clearly waiting for him to finish.
"Um." Naruto bit his lip. "Can I...get you anything? For your headache, I mean. Or... maybe you want a glass of wine to relax?"
Glancing over his shoulder, Sasuke sent him a pretty hateful glare, but Naruto found he couldn't take it personally.
"Y'know." He pressed him again. "I'm not mad anymore. About this mornin'."
"Why?" Sasuke asked, an empty smirk complementing his equally cold, stoic expression. "What happened this morning?"
"Heh." Naruto smirked, too, as he unzipped his jacket and gripped the railing. "That's cute. Say, that's a nice shiner you got there. Did you forget about this mornin' 'cause someone knocked you out and you hit your head a little too hard?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Isn't that the story of what happened to you as a baby?"
Naruto barked out a dark laugh.
"Something funny?" Sasuke asked.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded his head while scratching the back of his head and smiling. "Somethin' really is. No, really, though. What can I bring you?"
But, Sasuke simply stared at him like he was the featured star at a freakshow.
"Or did we drink it all last night before we went out? The wine, I mean." He cast a cursory glance toward the kitchen before returning his attention to Sasuke. Naruto took another step, leaving only one between them now.
The other man's eyes narrowed even further.
Naruto's own gaze became focused on that ugly bruise. He started to reach out to touch it and was just about to brush his fingertips right below -
Sasuke grabbed his wrist and squeezed it hard. "What are you doing?"
"I'm worried," he answered distractedly. "Pull your coat collar down." He thought he spotted another bruise on Sasuke's neck.
"Pardon me?"
"What did you get up to since you left the hotel?" Naruto asked, his voice unexpectedly tender.
Sasuke threw Naruto's hand away. "Don't get the wrong idea, Naruto. I'm not doing this because I regret anything I said earlier."
"Oh? It seems your memory's gotten better. Now you're ready to acknowledge it?"
Sasuke leaned forward. "Are you purposely provoking me right now?"
Despite the morbid excitement growing within him at this exchange, Naruto met Sasuke's angry glare head-on. "Maybe."
For the first time, the other man showed another emotional reaction besides butthurt.
"Why?"
"'Why?'" Naruto repeated. "That should be my question. Why'd you come and find me and rescue me like I'm some damsel in distress?"
Sasuke sneered some more. "And I'm Prince Charming?"
"I wouldn't know anything about Prince Charming," he answered.
"It seems your girlfriend would say the same."
Naruto tipped his head to the side, some of his earlier confidence deflating. "Don't bring her into this," he found himself saying. "It has nothing to do with her. This is..." His gaze fell again to that bruise. "Between you and me."
"There's no you and me," Sasuke returned icily.
Naruto raised his eyes to the man's face, his own mouth set in a grim line. "Sasuke."
"If we're done. I'm going to draw a bath. And I don't want you to bother me."
"If that was true. You wouldn't have brought me here."
"So you're an amateur psychologist now?"
"No, but I - " He let go of the railing and let his fist fall at his side, nails digging into the flesh of his palm. What did he want to say? I want to help you? I care about you? I want to be with you right now?
How could he say any of that. How did any of it make sense anyway? But he felt compelled. He felt drawn. He wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Sasuke, though, apparently very aware of his hesitation, merely snorted at him.
"Pathetic," Sasuke muttered under his breath and began up the steps again.
Before he reached the top, however, Naruto called to him.
"You like red, right?" He shouted. "I'm gonna come in and check on you. Make sure you haven't drowned yourself in the tub! I'm not gonna drag your naked ass out of the water and give you CPR, just so we're clear!"
No surprise that he didn't receive an answer.
While he was standing there, the orange tabby cat came plodding down the steps. It stopped when it reached the step above the one on which Naruto stood.
They stared at each other as if exchanging a kind of telepathic message. The cat meowed at him questioningly, its ears twitching as it cocked its head.
Chewing the inside of his cheek, Naruto crouched down in front of the cat and scratched him along the scruff of its neck. "He put food in your bowl," Naruto murmured. "He does care, doesn't he?" He scratched underneath the tabby's chin. "Come on then."
Naruto headed down the stairs, the cat already scampering ahead of him. The closet was in the nearby hallway, so Naruto decided to hang his coat and scarf. While stretching out the sleeve of his sweater, he went over to where he'd left his luggage. It was with an odd disappointment that he knew he'd be staying in Deidara's room. Not as if he expected to share a bed with Sasuke or anything like that, but it was the idea of Sasuke shutting him out.
He had hoped that Sasuke had come to him with the intention of working out their disagreement; however, now he was inclined to think maybe something else was behind this fated reunion.
Even so, what he'd learned from today was that - this time - he had no intention of letting Sasuke slip away again. He was confident, more now than ever, that there had to be something he could do for Sasuke. He needed to get him to talk and open up to him, and if Sasuke really didn't want Naruto here, then he absolutely knew that Sasuke would never have contacted him again after this morning.
But here they were.
So, Naruto, grabbing all of his belongings, lugged them up the stairs. He could hear the tap running in the bathroom as he passed it. Naruto entered Deidara's bedroom, which... looked a lot like the set of an early Britney Spears' music video. Sheesh. Did he really have to sleep in here? The walls were a bright bubblegum pink and everything was so... furry. Naruto picked up one of the shag-covered throw pillows, thinking it could've passed for a sewer rat that crawled out of the toilet and died on the bed.
As he was leaving the uniquely-decorated bedroom, Sasuke happened to come out of the bathroom at the same time, clearly on his way to get something from his room. He ignored Naruto, though, which didn't faze him.
Naruto stopped near the doorway and poked his head in. "So, I'm guessin' Deidara's mom didn't have a hand in decorating his bedroom?"
"You want to make fun of the guy who nagged me all day to take you in so that you wouldn't have to fork out for a hotel?" Sasuke came out from around the closet, some pieces of clothing in his arms.
"Er, no - " He scratched his cheek out of embarrassment. "Of course I appreciate that he cared - "
"Save it," Sasuke snapped and pushed Naruto aside to get out.
Naruto's temper got the best of him and before Sasuke could pass by, he grabbed him by the shoulder and shoved him against the wall. Sasuke immediately winced, which freaked him out because Naruto had only just barely pushed him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean - " He had his hand pressed to Sasuke's chest. "You're really hurt, aren't you?"
He attempted to touch a strange bruise on the side of Sasuke's neck but, again, Sasuke grabbed for his wrist. It hurt, and Sasuke's nails were digging into his skin. Eyeing him warily at first, Sasuke let go of his wrist.
While searching the other man's face, Naruto got the sense he had permission -
He touched his fingertips to Sasuke's neck, tracing just under the bruises that seemed to be in the shape of...
"Who did this to you?" He asked, starting to feel the anger rise in his gut the same as it would any time it was made clear someone close to him had been attacked.
"No one did this to me," Sasuke answered, voice barely above a whisper as his gaze settled on Naruto's parted lips.
"The fuck they didn't," he said, eyes snapping up to meet Sasuke's. "I've been enough fights to know what this is. And the way you winced when you hit the wall says there's gotta be more than these ones I can see."
"So?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed, hand falling away from Sasuke's cheek to lie flat against the wall, next to Sasuke's left shoulder. "'So'? Are you serious?"
"It doesn't concern you."
"The fuck it doesn't, Sasuke!"
"Why?" Sasuke nearly growled, grabbing the front of Naruto's sweater. "Tell me why."
Naruto leaned in even more, his anger burning him up on the inside. "Because I fucking care, asshole!"
This answer apparently wasn't what Sasuke wanted to hear. He fisted Naruto's sweater tighter, pulling at it until they were almost chest to chest.
"I never asked you to care about me," Sasuke said with a sneer. "In fact, you've been nothing but a bother to me since we met."
"Liar," Naruto replied, although a small part of him thought it could be true, but he didn't want to believe it. There were so many signs that had pointed to otherwise. Sasuke was just angry about something. He didn't really mean that. Just like he hadn't meant it this morning when -
"I meant everything I said this morning," Sasuke told him, as if reading his mind. "Everything. It was fun at first, to play with you. To watch someone who'd do anything for attention."
"Shut up."
"And did you have fun, too?" Sasuke asked. "Were you able to," a hand slid down the front of Naruto's chest, "Satisfy your curiosity?"
"Shut up!" He yelled, slamming his hand against the wall. "You don't," he said, almost panting in his anger, "You...don't mean any of that. Sasuke - " He bit his lip. "You don't - "
"I don't what?" Sasuke asked, leaning over him, their bodies touching as the other man's mouth hovered next to his ear. "I don't what? Give a shit about you?" His breath, hot and damp, caused goosebumps to break out on his skin and the hair at the back of his neck to stand up.
Naruto's eyes shut, senses torn between the excitement of an adrenaline rush from fighting and the divine closeness of Sasuke's body against his, so close, so warm and -
"Back up," Naruto breathed.
"Make. Me."
His eyes snapped open and, setting a hand against Sasuke's chest, pushed him off - lightly, so as not to hurt him. They stared each other down until that hateful smirk reappeared on Sasuke's lips. He both loathed it and loved it because it stirred his blood in a manner he'd never felt before. What was this between them? It clearly went beyond normal feelings, not quite sexual chemistry but something similar. Different than the feelings he got before a fist fight. No. It was something else. What was it?
He took a step forward and planted both hands on either side of Sasuke's head, arms straight at first until, taking another half-step closer, they bent at the elbow. Bringing them close again.
"What do you want?" Naruto asked gruffly.
"Nothing."
"What do you want?" He barked, losing his patience.
"What I can't have!" Sasuke shouted.
Naruto's eyes ran over his face searchingly, slightly confused by that answer. "What can't you have?" He asked, tone becoming much more gentle.
Sasuke only glared. "Selfish brat."
"Stubborn asshole," he responded on impulse.
Sasuke let out a mocking laugh. "The pot calling the kettle black."
"Good, now that we've gotten it out of the way that we have so much in common. Do me a favor."
"What's that?" Sasuke asked, eyebrow arching.
"What did you do?"
Sasuke crossed his arms. "What you wouldn't."
"What's that supposed to mean."
"Naruto," Sasuke said, and Naruto thought his complexion had suddenly become extremely pale. He held his hand to his eye again. "You're making it worse."
Instantly, Naruto leaned back a ways. Giving him his space.
"Just let me have my bath," Sasuke told him. "Whatever you think I deserve after this morning - " Shaking his head, he left his sentence unfinished. "My vision's going."
Naruto grabbed his arm, but Sasuke shook it off and pushed him out of the way. He headed for the bathroom; however, Naruto was quick to follow, worried that Sasuke appeared about to faint. When Sasuke noticed, he tried to push him out again, but Naruto gripped one of his arms.
"At least let me help you get undressed," he murmured, eyeing him with a growing concern.
"No." Losing his balance, Sasuke suddenly reached out for the sink counter to steady himself. Naruto was already there, keeping him aright, too. "I don't want you to see."
"See what?"
"Please just..." Sasuke reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes, but his fingers stopped just above the bruise on his cheek.
A cold, empty feeling stirred in Naruto's gut and he had an instinct to -
He took hold of the bottom of Sasuke's long-sleeved sweater and yanked it up, revealing a cluster of pretty horrible looking bruises along his abs, chest, and the sides of his body.
"Jesus," Naruto gasped only for Sasuke to slap his hand away. "The fuck. Sasuke? Seriously."
"Fuck off. This is the last time I'll warn you before I - "
"Before you what?" He shouted. "What the fuck did you do?"
"Don't you judge me," Sasuke seethed. "Don't you dare fucking judge me."
Naruto's expression softened the instant he heard the pain in Sasuke's voice.
"Okay," he said, letting go of the sweater so that it covered up the bruises. "I'm not judging you at all, Sasuke. I'm not."
Sasuke seemed to calm but he continued to look at Naruto with an obvious amount of distrust.
"It has nothing to do with you," Sasuke reiterated.
Naruto backed away a step and put his hands up. "Okay."
It was beyond difficult for him to not embrace Sasuke. He looked like a cornered animal, fearful and scared and angry enough to lash out at anything that came near. It reminded him of being a little kid. Just after his mom died. When he'd get picked on at school by the older kids.
"At least tell me if someone jumped you," he demanded.
"No one jumped me, Naruto," Sasuke replied in exasperation. "You wouldn't understand." He crossed his arms again, gaze shifting to the still-running tub. He walked over to it and turned it off.
Standing there, Naruto watched Sasuke skim his fingers across the water. It took him three steps to come up behind Sasuke and the same number of seconds to decide to put his arms around him. Sasuke froze. But Naruto continued to hold him.
Without saying a word, Naruto placed his chin on the other man's shoulder while gazing at the water. Sasuke's head was lowered, his bangs falling across his forehead and covering his eyes. Naruto could see it all within their reflections.
There was a ripple on the surface of the water.
Naruto squeezed tighter around Sasuke's waist.
"Why are you doing this?" Sasuke said in a broken voice.
"Because I see myself in you, and I don't want you to be in pain. I don't want you to be lonely either. It's so hard, to be in that much pain and to be alone. I know it, too. Believe me."
Sasuke's look was intense when he turned around in his arms. Without hesitation, he took hold of Naruto's face, pulled him close, and pressed their mouths together. It shocked him, but maybe it shouldn't have. He was slow to react, one part of his brain telling him to push Sasuke away (ah, Shion!) but the other part...the part that won out... allowed fingers to curl at the base of Sasuke's neck, weave their way into his dark hair, and press back equally as hard while their lips moved together.
He felt Sasuke's hand sneak under his sweater, skimming hot up the plain of his back while its descent elicited another type of reaction. Nails scratched a jagged path across his spine, causing him to gasp into their kiss. He remained conscious of the touch until Sasuke's palm settled on his lower back.
When they parted, it was because Sasuke drew away first, dark eyes dancing over Naruto's face with lustful anticipation.
Naruto licked his lips, tasting Sasuke on them. His own gaze fell to Sasuke's mouth, the man's lips also red and swollen.
"That was," he raised his eyes to meet Sasuke's, "Unexpected."
But as the reality of what happened hit him, he gave a slight, stumbling step backward.
Sasuke remained silent as Naruto backed up until he was in the doorway. He had to use the frame to keep steady.
"Naruto."
"I'll, uh, let you take your bath then."
Grabbing the knob, Naruto shut the door after walking out. He leaned against the closest wall for support. Gradually, he started to slide down until he was sitting on the floor.
Naruto glanced at the bathroom door and touched his fingers to his lips, remembering the electric jolt that shot through his body the instant his lips had touched Sasuke's. He'd just kissed a guy. And not just any guy. Sasuke.
But there was Shion.
They weren't together, but... they were. No. Shit.
What was this? What did it mean?
He shook his head, but that didn't help make anything clearer. Sasuke had just been upset. Naruto had been upset, too. They both had gotten excited or whatever, and one thing led to another and -
Yeah. He could definitely use a drink right now.
With some effort, Naruto managed to get to his feet, almost swaying as he made his way down the hall. He held onto the rail while going down the stairs, stopping at the kitchen to lean against the island counter. The cat, who'd been eating from his bowl, peered up at him, his long tail twitching in the air. Naruto only blinked at the animal before going to the cabinet to find just about any liquor bottle he could get his hands on. He grabbed a tumbler from another cabinet, but, after a minute, he reached up and grabbed a second glass.
Naruto didn't know what was going on between them. What had been going on between them all this time. But one thing he'd promised to himself when he'd agreed to go with Sasuke was -
He had no intention of running away. And Sasuke, whether he'd admit it or not, needed someone to be there for him, and, at the moment, Naruto wanted that someone to be him and only him.
Grabbing the bottle of liquor and the two glasses, Naruto glanced one more time at that orange, nameless cat, then looked up toward the top of the stairs. More determined than ever, he headed back to the bathroom, and without bothering to knock, opened the door.
After Naruto left like that, Sasuke had pretty much given up on trying to figure anything the fuck out. His head still hurt, and all objects only seemed like blobs to him at this point. Taking off his clothes ended up being difficult, so much so that he nearly regretted not calling Naruto back to help him out. He went to stand in front of the mirror, and even with his bad vision, he could still make out the bruises. When he turned around, there were scratch marks across his back and more bruising on his ass and the backs of his thighs. He'd really let himself be worked over. Oddly, Sasuke didn't feel much pain and mostly held some fascination in seeing all of the imperfections covering his body.
Limping over to the bathtub, he got inside, sinking below the water, feeling lost and alone. He'd tried, hadn't he? He'd gone to that place this afternoon so that he could get his head straight only for it to backfire. Then, Itachi and Deidara had ganged up on him for leaving Naruto stranded. So, what did he do? He threw away his pride and went to find him, even offering him a place to stay for the night.
To be completely honest, he hadn't expected Naruto to come with him, and he still didn't quite understand why he'd decided to. When they got here, hadn't Sasuke tried to place some boundaries between them? He'd told Naruto to stay away from him, but what did the blond do?
He took in a deep breath and submerged himself entirely, looking up at the ceiling through the water, eyes wide open but barely seeing anything at all.
What had just happened between them, though? What was that? He'd lost all control at the end. Kiss Naruto? Was he a fucking masochist? Well, maybe he was, but he never meant to show that side of himself to anyone but paid professionals.
Sasuke let his eyes slip shut, body unwilling to surface, even when he felt himself running out of breath. But, then something grabbed his arm, and immediately, he sprang from the water, pushing the offender away as he swiped his wet hair out of his eyes. Naruto was standing there with an expression torn between anger, bewilderment, and concern. It was surprisingly amusing to see. He also noticed the vodka bottle and two glasses now sitting by the sink.
Whatever. He didn't care anymore.
As if Naruto wasn't there, Sasuke leaned against the back of the tub and rested his head on the edge, content to ignore him. But, of course, Naruto wasn't likely to leave him alone.
"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Sasuke asked, a slight smirk present on his lips.
"You think it's fucking funny I come in here and find you drowning yourself in the tub?"
"What do you care? Didn't you say earlier that if I did, you wouldn't bother giving me CPR? Yet, just a little while ago, you were perfectly happy to put your mouth on mine."
"Look at me, asshole," Naruto said, at the same time grabbing Sasuke by the hair and forcing him to do just that. "I am not fuckin' amused right now - " His eyes lost their anger, though, as they roved over Sasuke's body. "Holy - "
Letting go, Naruto took a couple of steps backward.
Sasuke was finding some sick pleasure in the look of horror on the other man's face. There it was. He knew Naruto could never understand him.
"Sasuke," Naruto said. "What did you do?"
"Nothing I haven't done before," he replied calmly, running a hand through his damp hair. Naruto hadn't been very gentle when he'd grabbed a chunk of it, and Sasuke wasn't in the mood to analyze the fact that the show of force had excited him - just a little.
Naruto approached the tub again and, to his surprise, sank to his knees beside it. When Sasuke turned to look at him and ask what he was doing, he found Naruto with his face buried in the crook of his folded arms.
What was he doing? Was he... crying?
It freaked him out a little. He sat up, staring at the top of Naruto's head until he suddenly thought he heard the sound of him weeping. He didn't understand at all. Was Naruto crying... for his sake?
"Naruto?" He called quietly.
But Naruto kept his head down.
What was this feeling?
Not quite aware that his body was even moving of its own accord, Sasuke's hand hovered just above Naruto's head. Then, he rested it on top, fingers sifting through all of that soft, golden hair.
"Naruto," he said again in a very open, tender way, and Naruto looked up at him.
There was such pain there that Sasuke forgot himself. Forgot his own pain, and wanted to kiss those tears away. Gingerly, he touched the side of Naruto's face, watching a tear slide down his cheek. As if it was the easiest thing in the world to do, he brushed it away with his thumb.
"Don't cry," he said. "Your face was already ugly enough."
Naruto chuckled as he wiped at his nose and looked up at him with this expression that -
How did it happen this way?
Sasuke was the one who'd been depressed, and now, seeing Naruto this upset, it was like his heart was breaking on the blond's behalf.
"Jerk," Naruto said, continuing to sniffle and wipe at his flushed, tear-stained cheeks. "Explain it to me in a way that I can understand."
Sasuke took pity on him as he crossed his legs under the water and turned so that he could face him. "Just a bad day, idiot."
"Look at you. That's not a bad day, Sasuke, that's - "
Sasuke shushed him. "I'm fine now. I can't drown myself if I'm going to have to worry about you."
Anxiously, Naruto chewed his lip. "I...is this 'cause of me? Is it 'cause of this mornin'? Is it 'cause I came here tonight. Or is it 'cause what happened before - "
"It's not always about you. Don't be so self-centered," he replied. "There's more going on in my life than your disastrous appearance in it."
"I'm not sure if you're joking."
"Neither am I," he said, letting out a sigh. "But it has very little to do with you, Naruto. I've been fucked up for a while now."
"You're not fucked up," Naruto argued.
"I can't even figure out why you're defending me at all after everything," Sasuke admitted.
"Yeah, well." Naruto grabbed the edge of the bathtub and managed to haul himself to his feet. "I need a drink."
Sasuke watched as he went over and poured himself a half glass of straight vodka and then returned to his side, sinking down to the tiled floor with his back to him. They were both quiet for a while.
Naruto waited until he'd finished his drink to say anything. "What do I have to do to get you to tell me?"
"Hn." Sasuke swirled his fingers around in the water. "I don't think that's how this works."
"Then tell me how it works," Naruto replied, turning to look at him. "I'm not gonna leave your side until you tell me."
"What are you going to do?" Sasuke asked. "Beat it out of me?"
"Is this really that funny to you?"
"Naruto," he said. "Bring me a drink, would you?"
"Huh?"
"You brought two glasses, didn't you? So. Bring me a drink."
"Whatever. Bossy, secretive asshole." Naruto got to his feet and went to pour Sasuke a drink as well as another for himself. He brought it over and handed it to him. "How's your head?"
"Worse," he answered, taking the glass and throwing it all back in one go.
Naruto just shook his head. "We should...probably talk about what happened earlier, too."
"Why?" Sasuke asked. "As you can see, I was clearly out of my mind."
"Ah," the blond said disbelievingly. "Is that what happened?"
"Wouldn't it be a relief to you if it was?" Sasuke set his empty glass on the floor.
Their eyes met. Naruto looked like he was getting angry again.
"You must think I'm pretty stupid, huh?"
Sasuke snorted. "It's crossed my mind."
"That's it." Naruto stood up and started taking off his sweater.
He raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"
Naruto ignored him and after throwing his sweater toward the sink, leaned on the edge of the tub in order to pull off his socks. When he started to undo his belt buckle, Sasuke got strangely nervous.
"Naruto," he said, eyeing him warily.
Naruto turned around, and, momentarily, Sasuke's gaze dropped to where his fingers were unfastening the buttons to his jeans. He surveyed the patch of darker blond hair trailing from his navel. Then his gaze rose slowly until it met with Naruto's. The blond continued to unzip his pants. After stepping out of them, he kicked them toward the toilet.
Clad in only a pair of boxers, Naruto stood in front of him. Sasuke was reminded of this afternoon, when he'd thrown away the pair that he'd borrowed. Looking back, that seemed such a childish thing to do.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?" He asked.
"I'm gettin' in with you. Duh. And here I thought you were supposed to be the smart one."
Before Sasuke could even begin to process Naruto's logic, the blond got into the bath with him - one leg at a time - presenting him with his ass briefly before pushing Sasuke's legs out of the way to make room.
Naruto stretched out both arms on the sides of the tub, and after raking a hand through his hair, released a sigh.
"That's better," he said to Sasuke. "Don't y'think?"
Sasuke didn't even know what to say.
"If that's all I had to do to make you speechless," Naruto grinned. "I woulda done it 10 minutes ago."
"You live for shocking people, don't you?" He asked, unabashedly running his eyes over Naruto's taut chest and stomach. "Although, I wouldn't have been opposed if you'd taken the shorts off."
"I'm sure you're used to men who don't mind droppin' their shorts for you, but I'm not that easy."
Looking up again, Sasuke leveled him with an assessing glare.
"If you're feelin' self-conscious," Naruto said condescendingly, "I can grab a towel. And you can cover yourself."
"That's funny coming from the man who was crying at my feet only a few minutes ago."
"If you could see yourself, I think you'd cry, too. You look like shit. Now tell me, Sasuke. Where does a guy go in a town like this when he wants someone to rough him up a bit?"
"A guy like you?" Sasuke asked. "Try Harlem."
"Hilarious." Naruto leaned forward and grabbed onto both of Sasuke's calves. Purposely, he pressed his thumb into one of the bruises on Sasuke's shin. "Let me just ask this. You gettin' beat up like that, was it... because you were angry and thought the best thing to do was to pick a fight?"
"Why?" Sasuke asked, trying not to grimace when Naruto's finger dug even harder into his skin. "Is that what you did when you were a kid? Picking fights with classmates and breaking garage windows?"
"Heh." Naruto let go of him. "Do you talk to all your friends this way when they ask questions?"
"I never said anything about you and I being friends, but, for the record, those who are closest to me know not to pry."
"Well, I consider you a friend," Naruto replied. "I won't force you to tell me if you don't want to. I guess I just wanna know - is there anyone I need to find and fuck up before I go?"
Sasuke was thrown off by the question, and suddenly, he did start to feel self-conscious. Vulnerable. He drew his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.
"No," he said quietly. "It didn't happen like that."
"Then I don't get how you could end up with all those bruises otherwise."
"Why can't you just leave me alone?" He asked, annoyed at the hint of desperation in his voice.
"I told you," said Naruto. "It's 'cause I consider you a friend. Ah, the water's gettin' kinda cold. Should I turn it on so we can have some more hot water?"
He rose from the tub, and like it was no big deal, stood in front of him while reaching for the knob above Sasuke's head. He ended up being faced with Naruto's crotch, and when the warm water started pouring into the tub - as Naruto started to sit back down - Sasuke grabbed him by the waist with both hands. He forced Naruto down onto his knees.
"Sasuke?"
He didn't respond. Instead, he pressed his palm to Naruto's stomach, absently wondering at the blond's darker skin compared to his own. Then, running his hands up Naruto's sides, Sasuke looked at him through eyes only able to open to a squint. It seemed like his migraine was back in full force.
"Sasuke?" Naruto called him again, and as he attempted to lean against the tub for support, he brought Naruto down with him.
Naruto made a disgruntled noise as he fell on top of Sasuke, his elbow smacking against the side as he went.
"Ow, dammit, Sasuke." He tried to get up, but Sasuke clung to him. The weight of Naruto's body felt so good against his, even though he was sinking -
A slap to his cheek roused him somewhat, and, opening his eyes, he saw the blurry outline of Naruto above him.
"Hold on," Naruto was saying - his voice far off somehow. He was able to escape from Sasuke's hold, and Sasuke knew he let out a whine at the loss of contact.
Naruto was getting out of the tub but when he returned, he'd taken the robe from off the back of the door. He pulled the plug for the drain and, putting an arm around Sasuke, helped him to his feet. Sasuke leaned on him heavily for support as the blond got his arms into the robe and wrapped the sash around his waist.
The next thing he knew, Naruto was dragging him across the hallway and dropping him into his bed. He was sopping wet, too. Sasuke was too out of it to be worried about the way Naruto was dripping all over the place. Suddenly, it felt so nice to be warm; he rolled onto his side and gathered the blankets around him.
Naruto left the room again. He was a very busy person, Sasuke thought deliriously, and smirked.
Then, after an undetermined amount of time, he reappeared and despite Sasuke trying to slap his hand away, Naruto proceeded to dry his hair with a towel.
"I'm not a child," Sasuke murmured, even though it felt good to be taken care of for once.
"Shut up, Sasuke," Naruto replied gently, ringing all of the water from his hair. "I'll make you some tea, alright?"
"No," he said. "Don't. You're gonna get water everywhere - "
When Naruto touched his cheek, Sasuke instantly stopped talking.
"I'll be right back," Naruto told him. "Just lay here, okay? Don't cause me any more trouble."
He started to get off of the bed, but Sasuke was up in an instant and grabbed him by the wrist to pull him down again. He held onto Naruto's hand as he tried to keep his eyes open.
"This morning," he said, trying in vain to ignore the pounding in his head. "I felt - " He reached to touch the back of his neck.
And that was all he got out before he lost consciousness.
After fumbling with the tea packet, Naruto took the whistling kettle from off of the stove and poured the hot water into a plain blue mug. He'd never had migraines before, so he wasn't quite sure just how painful they were. But, if Sasuke was able to withstand whatever had happened to leave all of those bruises and scratches on his body, then a migraine must really fucking suck. He was pretty sure it wasn't worth calling an ambulance for, but he'd keep a watch over Sasuke all night if he had to.
It was only when he reached the upstairs that he realized all he had on was a sopping wet pair of boxer shorts. He was actually starting to shiver from the cold. The only relief came from the hot mug he held. When he entered Sasuke's bedroom, he found the other man asleep still, so he set the mug on the desk. He ended up going through Sasuke's drawers for some underwear. In his search, he also discovered a nearly empty box of condoms. For the first time, he considered all of the men that Sasuke had probably been with and wondered why, even though Sasuke was apparently so popular, did he still seem... so lonely?
Naruto put the condoms back where he found them and, noticing that Sasuke was apparently averse to boxers, borrowed a pair of navy boxer-briefs. In the next drawer, he found a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He stopped, though, when he realized he could've just as easily worn something from his suitcase. Ah, well, most of it had to be dirty.
Making sure Sasuke was asleep, he stripped off his boxer shorts and pulled on Sasuke's underwear. They were a little snug so he had to do some adjusting in the package area. Sasuke was slightly slimmer than him in the waist. It made him wonder if Sasuke was more of a runner? Naruto liked to work out with weights and did a lot of swimming when he had the opportunity.
Not to mention, well, now that he'd seen Sasuke naked and even shared a tub with him, he could guess at another reason he was so popular with gay men.
As he finished getting dressed, he went to check on Sasuke and at least make sure he was breathing. His shaggy jet black hair was scattered across the pillow. It was a bit damp, but he should've been warm enough with that heavy robe and all those blankets over him. Sasuke was curled onto his left side, facing the wall.
Naruto watched him for a while, his brain replaying the events of the past hour and a half or whatever it had been since they got here. He sighed and rubbed at his forehead, glancing around, though, when he heard the sound of a cell phone buzzing.
It took him a second to realize it couldn't be his, since it was in the pocket of his jeans, which were still in the bathroom. He tried to figure out where it was coming from and finally found Sasuke's cell phone wedged between the chair and its cushion. Naruto picked it up and, unlike that first time, it wasn't locked for some reason. He also recognized the name on the phone and, glancing over at Sasuke, decided to answer it.
"Hello," he said.
"Pardon me, but who is this?" The voice asked.
"Ah hah," Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "That's a long story, but, uh, I'm, er, I mean. I know your brother. You're Itachi, right?"
"May I ask you what you're doing answering my brother's cell phone?"
"Well, you see - " Naruto didn't know exactly where to start. "My name's Naruto."
"Naruto. Yes. I know who you are. And you're with Sasuke?"
"Wait, how do you know - " He shook his head. "That doesn't matter. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you because - "
"Is Sasuke alright?"
"That's why I wanna talk to you. It seems, er." He didn't really want to bring up the bruises yet if he didn't have to. "He was complaining of a migraine earlier and then went to take a bath, and then he - " Naruto realized that the next part might sound strange, "Kind of passed out, so I dragged him out of the tub and put him into bed."
"Naruto," the other man said, and Naruto seemed to snap to attention at his tone, "Listen to me very carefully. Did my brother take anything at all before he got into the bath? Were you with him while he was in there?"
"Uh. Well. I guess I was. After a while. Not like that, though. Or, well - "
"So he didn't take anything that might not be prescribed by a doctor."
"Um. No. No. Not that I saw. No, definitely not. He had some vodka, I guess. But that's it." Now he was beginning to wonder if he should tell Itachi about the bruises. What if it all was connected? But, he also didn't want to rat Sasuke out. But, Itachi sounded worried, so. "Um. He also seems to, you know. Maybe have gotten into a brawl or somethin'. Cause. He had a few bruises. I dunno if that's related?"
There was a long sigh on the other end of the line. "Naruto."
"Yes?"
"Do you think he needs to be taken to the hospital?"
"No. I think he just needs to rest. He seems like he's exhausted maybe. We've had a couple of late nights this weekend."
"I know," Itachi said simply. "I spoke with my brother earlier."
"You did?"
"It's no matter. I see he's taken my advice. However, his current state greatly concerns me. But, Naruto. I'm very glad that you're there with him. Deidara is at his mother's, I presume?"
"Yeah, he is."
"I'll leave Sasuke in your care this evening, but please tell him that tomorrow, I expect him to call. Or I will be on the next flight to New York."
"But all the flights are - "
"I have my methods," said Itachi. "By the way. Did Sasuke tell you how he received those bruises you mentioned earlier?"
"No. I tried to get it out of him, but he won't tell me. I thought maybe he got into a fight. He was fine when I saw him this mornin', but..."
"My brother is a very private person. Don't take it personally. I'm afraid there's not much I can do from here, but please make sure to call me should anything happen."
"Okay," he said, glancing over at Sasuke again. "I will."
"Thank you."
"It's no problem."
Itachi hung up. Naruto set the phone on the desk and walked to the bed. He sat on the edge and then, after staring at Sasuke's back for a while, decided to lie down on the other side of him. The scenario reminded Naruto of this morning when he'd woken up and -
Sasuke's last words before he passed out suddenly hit him.
Had he... been awake, after all? When he'd...
He chewed his lip uncertainly, feeling an overwhelming urge that he needed to take responsibility.
Sighing, his heart felt heavy as he pressed his forehead to Sasuke's shoulder and put an arm around the man's waist. He wasn't at all tired. He'd been wound so tight just minutes ago, but talking to Itachi had calmed him a lot. And, being in bed with Sasuke, knowing that he was safe here, Naruto felt such relief.
His brain kept thinking up scenarios for what happened to him this afternoon. Had it been thugs, or someone he knew? Was Sasuke lying when he said it hadn't been like that?
That didn't make sense.
Naruto squeezed Sasuke a little tighter. He hated seeing him like this. In fact, everything was so unfair. His situation. Sasuke's. Sasuke wasn't a bad person. He was a good person that bad things had happened to.
But he just couldn't get the image of Sasuke's bruised body out of his mind. He hated it. He hated it so much, and he wanted to protect him, and he wanted -
Naruto buried his face in Sasuke's shoulder. It wasn't fair. It wasn't!
He took in a deep breath, cursing at God and any other invisible entities that existed and could be held responsible for either ignoring the suffering of others or being the cause of it. Naruto had struggled with that pain for so long on his own, and he still hadn't completely healed from that loss. He liked to think he was so much better than he used to be, but this weekend made him realize that there might never be a time when he could call himself "healed."
And now Sasuke was going through something similar. But where Naruto had begun letting people into his life that wanted to help him, Sasuke insisted on pushing everyone away.
Naruto wanted to be the one who Sasuke couldn't scare off. He decided that when Sasuke awoke again, this time they really would have to talk. About what happened to him after he left the hotel this morning and about, well, that kiss.
Maybe he wasn't ready to admit it before, but he did have to come to terms with the fact that he'd been a willing participant. Naruto had always been a very straight-forward type of guy, so pretending like it hadn't happened just wasn't his style.
However, right now all he cared about was Sasuke's health. Everything else could wait until he was able to get some rest.
