-
Itachi stared at Sasuke. What?
"Broke up with you? As in, you two were dating?" Itachi asked.
Sasuke nodded.
"Since when?"
Sasuke looked over at his brother.
"You know how my thirteenth birthday is coming up?" Sasuke said.
Itachi nodded.
"If he hadn't dumped me, we would've been going out for two years," Sasuke continued.
Itachi continued to stare at him. He and Arashi hadn't been together for half a year yet, and his brother had already been dating for two? Itachi looked back over at where Naruto and Gaara were. Naruto was glancing everywhere in the same manner Sasuke had been earlier. He looked worried yet relieved at the same time. Then Naruto caught sight of Itachi. The blond waved and the man gave a slight wave. Then he started walking over.
"Sasuke, if you want to avoid Naruto, I suggest you duck for cover. He's coming this way," Itachi warned.
Sasuke immediately dove behind a bookcase. How he managed it so quickly, Itachi wasn't sure.
"Hello, Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun," Itachi greeted.
"Hey, Itachi-san! Is Sasuke with you?" Naruto asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
Itachi thought for a moment.
"No, he's not. He fell ill yesterday. Doctor says he'll be in bed for weeks," Itachi said.
Naruto frowned.
"Oh. That's too bad. Uh, other than that, is he okay? He and I kind of had a . . . disagreement a little while ago. I've been trying to give him some space, but I'm kind of worried about him," Naruto said, scratching his cheek and looking at the floor.
Gaara had taken Sasuke's former seat and raised an eyebrow.
"Was this disagreement the reason you left the bathroom in a huff that day?" Gaara asked.
"Ah, no, that was a different one," Naruto admitted.
Itachi raised an eyebrow. How many "disagreements" have these two had? Gaara's expression turned suspicious. He crossed his arms and glared into space.
"It's a bit hard to discern the grumpiness caused by the illness and normal teen angst right now," Itachi lied.
"Oh. Okay. So, you here to get Sasuke's autographed copy?" Naruto asked.
Itachi nodded.
"Okay. Uh, one moment." Naruto rummaged around in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out twenty bills. "This should be enough for Sasuke's copy. I originally was supposed to buy it for him, but . . . yeah."
Naruto handed the money to Itachi. Itachi took it and thanked him. Naruto stuck a grin on his face and he made Gaara get in line with him. The red-head shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the blond. Itachi walked over to where Sasuke had disappeared. His little brother was leaning against the bookcase, tears rolling down his cheeks and face contorted from holding back sobs. Sasuke closed his eyes and gripped his knees tightly. Itachi knelt down next to him.
"I love him, Itachi. I really do," Sasuke whispered, a sob escaping as he did. "I love Naruto. Maybe . . . maybe if I had told him that, he wouldn't have left me for Gaara. Maybe . . . . Maybe I can get him back?"
Sasuke looked at his brother, as though Itachi had the answer. Itachi merely looked down at the ground, wondering what he could do or say.
"Are you mad at me, Itachi?" Sasuke asked.
Itachi looked up. What?
"Are you mad that I'm gay?" Sasuke said, wiping away the tears. "Are you mad that I'm falling apart just because someone dumped me?"
The man shook his head.
"Just don't tell Mom or Dad. They'll send you to the Christian academy in Europe if you do. You know, the one Obito and I went to? The one I kept complaining about to you over the phone?"
Sasuke nodded. Itachi stood up.
"Do you want me to get the book for you?" Itachi asked; Sasuke nodded again. "Okay."
-
Gaara and Naruto left the bookstore after the book signing. Gaara saw that Naruto was still concerned about Sasuke. Gaara was still concerned about what had happened in the bathroom. He hypothesized the two things had something to do with one another.
"Naruto-kun?" Gaara said; Naruto looked up. "What happened between you and Sasuke?"
Naruto sighed.
"I guess you won't just let me avoid this subject, will you?"
Gaara shook his head. Naruto smirked.
"Okay, okay. I'll tell you. First, I have to give you some background information. Sasuke and I had been dating since we were ten, almost eleven. Yes, we're gay. Do you have a problem with that?" Naruto began, looking at Gaara.
Gaara shook his head no. Naruto sighed in relief and smiled slightly.
"That's good. Anyway, recently, I've been falling for someone else. At first, I wasn't really sure what the wet dreams meant. I thought that maybe I was just eating something weird before I went to bed, like maybe I wasn't supposed to eat beef ramen before I go to sleep. But no matter what I did to make them go away, they wouldn't. I realized I wasn't feeling the same way about Sasuke anymore. I was feeling that way about this other boy who kept haunting my dreams. Obviously, I didn't want to hurt Sasuke any more than I had to, and keeping him in a relationship where the person he was dating didn't feel the same way any more would hurt him more than a break-up. At least, that's what I thought at the time. So, I told him I wanted to see other people. He didn't exactly take it well. At first he thought it was a joke. When he figured out it wasn't, he kind of got . . . I'm not sure what he felt after that. All I know is that we didn't really talk after that until we both ran into each other in the bathroom that time I was really late for P.E."
Naruto paused his story. He frowned and looked back down at the ground again.
"Continue," Gaara urged.
Naruto nodded.
"Right. Well, it was really awkward at first. We sort of ignored each other for a while until Sasuke said something. He asked me why I broke up with him. What I saw in this person I was attracted to. I told him I wasn't sure what made the person different from him. I told him I wasn't sure why I didn't feel the same way about him any more and that I don't really have any control over what I feel. Sasuke kind of started to get mad after that. Not really mad as in angry, more like crazy. He – he sort of pinned me to the wall and kissed me, practically shoved his tongue down my throat."
Gaara's hands tightened into fists. How dare that Uchiha. He definitely deserved the beating Gaara had given him, then.
"I didn't really expect that, so I was kind of stunned for a while. During my stunned state, in between kisses and breaths, Sasuke started saying things that he probably didn't mean, like 'I don't care who else you date, just always be mine' and 'Two-time all you want, just don't leave me.' He couldn't've really meant them. It's just . . . not Sasuke to say things like that, to want things like that. Sasuke's either Number 1 or no body at all. That's just how he is. So, when he started saying those things, he kind of scared me. After my stunned state left, I pushed him off me and, well . . . it wasn't really the NICEST thing I could've said, or I could've at least phrased it better but . . . I basically said that he needed to get over me and get his life back. Then he really scared me because he said that I WAS his life. I – I hadn't meant to hurt him that much, but . . . he'll heal, right? He'll heal and we can just be friends again. Right?" Naruto asked, turning to look at Gaara.
The red-head wasn't sure what to say. He didn't care about the Uchiha at all, but just watching what worrying about Sasuke did to Naruto, Gaara knew he didn't know how to comfort him.
"If Kankuro, Temari, and I can get over watching people die everyday, being assaulted everyday, and being raped by an uncle, I think anyone can get over anything," Gaara said.
It seemed to make Naruto feel a little better. It was obvious that he was still worried, though.
-
Red Roses2: Don't say it. I know. I completely SUCK at Sasuke, and I apologize. Maybe we can blame it on temporary insanity on Sasuke's part?