I know, startling yeah? An update that didn't take a literal month and a half to arrive, unheard of. Please enjoy!
It had only been three hours since Sasuke had woken up that morning but the raven was convinced that the only option for the rest of the day was to simply slip back into bed and vanish into a deep sleep. "Hey, what the hell did you do to Naruto?" A very, very, deep sleep.
Sighing, Sasuke glanced over at Kiba who was trying, key word here being 'trying', to quietly whisper-yell at Sasuke for Naruto's unusual actions that morning. He stared at the rough teen in the desk next to him tiredly for a minute; he was not in the mood for the day, let alone Kiba's hasty assumptions. "Nothing." He replied and turned back to the front of the class. Kiba started to reach for Sasuke's shoulder but was stopped when a flying eraser hit the side of his hand.
Kiba and Sasuke both looked down at the eraser, now laying harmlessly on the floor, and then in the direction that it came from. The pitcher was Gaara, who sat right behind Sasuke. The redhead glared at Kiba and shook his head. Normally Sasuke would have given the mutt a superior smirk but he seriously just didn't have it in him to even tease Kiba. He was more likely to succumb to the deep sleep than he was to doing literally anything at this point, even teasing his least favorite nuisance.
Thankfully the eraser attack was enough to end whatever conversation it was that Kiba had been trying to have. "Cheater, having a protective boyfriend." The brunette mumbled sounding very well like he was pouting seriously.
Registering the danger of what Kiba had just said, Sasuke glared over at Kiba who was now actually writing his notes, for once, with pinched concentration. With narrowed eye Sasuke looked around the room for anyone that may have heard the brunette idiot. He didn't have the energy for the day but he knew better than to just let someone get away with starting any kind of rumors like that. No one seemed to have even realized Kiba spoke at all, a shocker really with how loud he was being, so Sasuke tried to relax again and go back to his notes.
Focusing seemed nearly impossible, however, so Sasuke put his pencil down and dug his palms into his eyes and tried again to wish for the deep, deep, unmanageable sleep to just swallow him up. Maybe since he wore his most comfortable jacket it would actually happen. Not that he was tired, he slept well enough after he spent far too long working on a sketch; it was that morning that made him exhausted and irate.
After spending all evening yesterday calming Naruto down and clearing things up about Gaara, Kakashi of all people goes and ruins it by making Sasuke look like a liar first thing in the morning by yelling misleading things at Iruka in the presence of everyone. Why their guardians had assumed fighting so early in the morning was a good idea, Sasuke could only guess, but the things they had said to each other was evidence enough for Sasuke to confirm that growing in age does not mean better control over one's emotions. Also, as a side thought, he wondered if that meant Naruto was doomed.
Because Iruka was being unreasonable, understandably so but still, Kakashi had gotten angry and had said something hurtful. If that hadn't been enough for Naruto to feel hurt and scared, Iruka's mention of banishing Kakashi from the house was sure to do it. Kakashi left after that and Naruto had taken a step towards Iruka and given Sasuke such a betrayed look as he guided Iruka to a chair so he could sit and collect himself. As If Sasuke didn't feel betrayed as well.
Watching Iruka and Naruto cuddling and whispering support to each other somehow in itself made Sasuke feel even more alone and abandoned. It wasn't a feeling that was new though and he knew the damage it had done to him at a younger age, so instead of pulling away Sasuke placed a hand on Iruka's shoulder. As expected Iruka immediately told Sasuke to not worry even though it was definitely Iruka who was shaking and breaking. It took everything for Sasuke to not feel angry at Iruka for not listening and for sending Kakashi away. It did seem to help, he just wasn't sure it was enough to make him any less frustrated with Ituka.
After they got their coats, the rest of the day was apparently meant for silence. Naruto didn't speak for the most part, he nodded and sighed through the greetings they got from their friends and went straight to his first class at the bell. Everyone naturally blamed Sasuke for the blond's attitude and kept encouraging Sasuke to go apologize to Naruto. Even if Sasuke wanted to apologize there wasn't anything to apologize for and he refused to let himself feel guilty. He didn't promise Naruto that everything was going to be ok, he told him that this was a simple mistake that could be solved easily, if their parents hadn't been stupid about it.
The bell rang for the second class of the day and Sasuke sighed in relief as he packed up his books and avoided Kiba's glares as he jetted from the room. As he meandered down the hall he saw Naruto at his locker switching out some books. Without really thinking too much about it Sasuke ended up standing beside Naruto.
After a second Naruto seemed to sense Sasuke's presence and turned to him for a moment before turning back to what he was doing. "What?" Naruto asked zipping his book-bag.
"Everyone thinks I made you sad. I keep being told to tell you that I'm sorry." Naruto just watched Sasuke. Was he expecting an apology? Did Naruto really think this was all Sasuke's fault? Anger boiled up in Sasuke, something familiar to anger anyways, but instead of exploding Sasuke swallowed harshly and tried to ignore the acid taste in his mouth. "Did I?"
The locker door slammed shut and it made Sasuke's nerves bristle and his body tense. The last thing he needed was another fight at school but if Naruto was pulling for one, Sasuke had no qualms giving it to him. "Sasuke." Said male snapped his eyes back up to Naruto from where he had apparently shut them from the sudden tensing his body had done. Naruto's eyes seemed as bright as usual but his body showed tiredness. "Did you get my text this morning?"
Furrowing his brows, Sasuke nodded as he recalled the text. He had woken up to see a string of kissing emojis and hearts from the blonde, and the acronym 'ilysm'. He wasn't sure what it was for so he ignored it to get dressed until he heard the yelling from iruka and Kakashi. Vaguely he thought that he had maybe planned on asking Naruto about it but had forgotten it when the morning took a very bad turn.
"I woke up super early this morning and remembered a huge project we had due in English today. I wouldn't have gotten it done if you didn't nagged me all week to get it done. So I texted you 'cause I was a little crazy with relief." Naruto gave a small smile, and that small lift at the corner of his mouth somehow lifted so much weight from Sasuke's chest. "I want to pay you back for that somehow."
Being able to breathe easily lead to Sasuke being able to register conversation better to which he rose an eyebrow at the blond who tilted his head to the side with a look of being done with Sasuke's sass already. If Naruto was serious about actually wanting to do something, then the raven knew he was going to have to make it something good. Sasuke tapped his chin in thought for what Naruto could do to repay him but really the only thing he was thinking was how relieved he was that Naruto was trying to feel better and that it wasn't him that did this. He was honestly so tired of ruining things.
"Well, you can just think about that, I have class to get to believe it or not." Naruto said with a baiting lilt as he started to walk around Sasuke. The raven caught his arm and Naruto leaned his head back with a grin. "Yes?"
"Don't be mad at Kakashi." The grin dropped and Naruto looked stunned for a second. He stared down at the ground and Sasuke squeezed his arm that he had meant to release, silently pleading that Naruto agree.
Finally the blond head nodded but then he looked back with a look of scary determination. "Only if you stop being made at Iruka."
It honestly stunned Sasuke as much as his own request had stunned Naruto. He wasn't even aware that anyone would have been able to realize that he had held this morning's blame mostly on Iruka. He understood why it was all happening, he knew it was a mixture of both doing and thinking things incorrectly but Sasuke couldn't stop himself from being upset with Iruka more than with Kakashi.
Somehow Sasuke saw in Naruto's face that he thought in the exact same way for Iruka's sake. "Fine." Naruto nodded and pulled his arm out of Sasuke's grip gently before waving and heading to class. He still looked as worried as he had been that morning but Sasuke now knew it wasn't his doings, even if the school thought so.
"So your parent's fought? I'm sorry to hear it. From what I've seen of them they seem like they fit together pretty well. Are you worried?" Sasuke wanted to answer Gaara'a question with a 'no', whether it be because of his pride or out of reflex but he knew he really was. He gave a small nod and tilted his head back to rest against the wall behind him.
Even after the fight with Kabuto, Gaara and Sasuke still claimed the unused hallway as their own. No one liked walking through here to begin with but after the fight someone said that there was a possession or something so now people think there is a poltergeist in the hallway. Ready to attack the very next soul that enters the 'Hallway that Leads Nowhere', as they have dramatically started calling. Sasuke like to think the whole lot of them were just too stupid to give Kabuto the full blame for what happened.
With everyone on his case, Sasuke had suggested they eat their lunches in the hallway and was relieved when Gaara agreed to it. The idea of having to sit in a room full of people that thought he hurt Naruto made Sasuke feel exhausted all over again. Especially if he would have to sit and watch Naruto overthink things and wear that stupid kicked puppy look that he had been wearing all day.
"Hey." Sasuke looked up and saw that Gaara was leaning close and had his eyes on Sasuke's lips. Giving a nod as the go ahead Gaara kissed him gently and placed a warm hand against Sasuke's. It was a nice distraction for what it was. Simple kisses, barely anything more than a little kid would give a relative, but Sasuke could tell that Gaara held all of his feelings in them. He was so gentle and was careful to not touch Sasuke in anyway other than where their lips touched and their hands were now laced. It felt nice even if he sometimes had to make himself forget that this was Gaara, his best friend.
"Oh my god Sasuke!"
"Kiba grab her!"
Shocked out of his distraction, that Gaara had kindly given him, Sasuke turned to glare down the hall at the sudden commotion. Sakura looked like she had been tazed as Kiba grabbed her around her waist and dragged her her back into the hallway where she was trying to run back out. He watched feeling a shiver go up his spine and then his stomach dropped when he met eyes with Naruto. He looked as exhausted as Sasuke felt but he also seemed nervous and about to shatter. It wasn't what Sasuke associated with the blonde and it unnerved him a lot. If Kakashi didn't fix this asap Sasuke was certain that Naruto would recede into complete oblivion.
Understanding that he needed to help calm Sakura, Sasuke stood and walked towards the three who were all struggling and flailing until he approached. Sakura was talking in broken and incomplete sentences and was staring at everyone, as if expecting them to laugh and announce the joke. "Sakura please calm down." Sasuke rubbed his temples and prayed that the small ache forming in his head was just from Sakura's echoing voice and not from an oncoming migraine.
"You were just, and he." She pointed back at Gaara but then flinched and pointed back at Naruto. "Oh, everything makes sense now!" And then she started laughing. Hysterically so, Kiba was now holding her so she didn't fall over instead of keeping her from running out and telling everyone.
"Hey, uh Sakura? You ok there hun?" Naruto petted her hair back and out of her face as tears rolled down her cheeks and she leaned heavily against Kiba.
The strained brunette seemed close to having his own breakdown. "Dude, Sasuke, I think you broke her brain." Sasuke ignored the 'dude' part and nodded. He was starting to feel uncomfortable.
Another three minutes and she had finally gotten herself under control and Gaara had gone back to the cafeteria to get some ice, just in case. They all sat in a circle as Sasuke explained that, yes, he was gay. He apologized that he didn't tell her before she had to find out this way and she nodded with a small forgiving smile.
Sakura pulled her knees to her chest and picked at her jeans contemplatively. "So you never liked me because you like boys?"
"I never liked you because you chased me around in grade school. Honestly I could blame you for being gay, Sakura." Naruto elbowed Sasuke and glared but Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Kidding." He sighed out in an attempt to lessen his sharp humor.
Thankfully Sakura seemed to have picked up that he was only joking. "I know." Sakura grinned and giggled to which Kiba scooted away some, afraid to be caught up in her mad laughter again. "It just sort of makes sense now. How distant you started to become, you never hang out with us anymore, I thought it was because I had pushed you too much or maybe you just didn't like any of us anymore. Here its just 'cause you want time with your boyfriend."
"He isn't my boyfriend." Sasuke snapped.
A shocked look appeared on Kiba's and Sakura's face, it made Sasuke feel stupid for getting so defensive. "Right." Sakura said clearing her throat. It didn't seem like she was going to push it. "Either way, now that I get it, you don't have to worry. I wont tell anyone and you can be yourself around me." Sasuke nodded and looked away but still felt a light sensation in his chest.
Gaara came back with the ice and handed it to Sakura who took it with a bright smile. "Aw, Sasuke. I want to hug you!" Sakura gushed and started to crawl across their circle to him but Sasuke held his hand out and leaned away with a frown. "What? why not! I know you don't like me, cant it just be a friend hug?"
"Sakura." Sasuke whined. She seemed too much like a proud relative for the teen to feel comfortable.
"Yeah Sasuke." Naruto encouraged with a tired smirk. Sasuke glared at the blond. Everyone knew Sakura had the strongest hugs, he couldn't imagine how much worse it could be if she was emotional when she hugged someone.
"I'm not taking 'no' as an answer." Sakura laughed as she leapt at Sasuke. Naruto had latched on to Sasuke's arm to keep him from moving and all Sasuke could get out was a weak 'oh' as Sakura landed on top of him with giggles and her arms around his midsection, squeezing all air out of his body. Kiba was howling with laughter at the sight and even Naruto was laughing. Sasuke huffed out a 'help' and saw Gaara lean over him and give a small shrug and a smirk.
Somehow the day had turned into this even with such an awful start. It started to feel like a good day and even after classes started again and Sakura continued to talk to him and hug him through out the day. Naruto finally got loud in their last class instead of being quiet like he had been all day, and Sasuke swears he saw Gaara talking with Kiba and some kid named Lee. If coming out as gay to one of his friends made everyone he knew get a long, Sasuke wandered what would happen if he told everyone.
If he had to guess realistically, not a lot of good things. However, if he had to tell anyone else, Sasuke thought that maybe he should tell his parents of all people. It probably wouldn't be that big of a deal to them, but he should probably tell them. Sasuke glanced back at his red headed friend, who was again sat right behind him. He wondered if he should tell his parents about Gaara?
The teen was working on his assignment diligently and with precision like he always did. Sasuke could see the small hand writing and ridiculously swirly cursive that he used to emphasize words, and felt a sort of fondness for his friend, but that's where it ended. He still couldn't feel anything past friendly love for Gaara and he was starting to feel guilty for using his friends feelings as a distraction.
When it was time to leave and Gaara tried to kiss Sasuke's cheek the raven pulled away and shook his head. Gaara gave a nod and waved him goodbye as he headed out to where Naruto was waiting for him. Even though Gaara hadn't seemed perturbed by the denied kiss, Sasuke could still tell that it made him feel rejected. It was enough to make the small guilt grow in his stomach. He again thought deeply about where his and Gaara's relationship should be.
"Hey, you look pretty bumbed again. Sakura hug you too tightly or something?" Naruto asked as Sasuke fell into step with him and shook his head. "Hey, whats up?" Sasuke looked over at Naruto and saw that he genuinely seemed concerned despit the attempt at a joke.
Feeling like he couldn't afford to ruin all the good that had somehow happened that day, Sasuke decided to just out with it for once. "Gaara tried to kiss me on the cheek."
Naruto started laughing. Sasuke shoved him hard and the blond almost slipped down the hill. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Do you understand how silly that sounded just now though?" Sasuke grimaced and kept walking, no longer feeling like sharing was a good idea. "You have kissed Gaara on the mouth at least three times. Why wouldn't a cheek kiss be ok? I mean unless it was in front of someone who doesn't know."
Sasuke sighed and stopped outside of the grade school building, Naruto stopped as well and looked at him expectantly. "We were alone." There was a rock in Sasuke's shoe, he isn't sure how it got there but he decided to lean down and dig it out.
Naruto dropped down into a squat and rose his eyebrows at Sasuke. "Ok and?"
The rock really hurt, Sasuke wondered how he hadn't noticed it until now. "And, i just didn't want him to. He kisses me too much." Sasuke finally got the rock out and straightened only to still feel off and uncomfortable. Standing as well, Naruto still wore a concerned but expecting look. "I don't want to date him, I want him to be my best friend. I like the kisses a lot, but I feel like the kisses are getting in the way of what we use to have." Naruto grabbed his book-bag straps and fiddled with them as he watched Sasuke's face. It made the raven feel exposed and squirmy.
"Sasuke, do you want to break up with Gaara?" Sasuke started to protest that he and Gaara couldn't break up because they weren't even in that sort of relationship but Naruto held up his hands. "No, I just mean. Do you want to ask him to stop kissing you? I get it if ya do, it would be hard dealing with Kiba constantly wanting to kiss me." Sasuke groaned at the thought and yanked the school door open as Naruto followed and laughed.
When Naruto and Sasuke met up with Iruka in the classroom he seemed fairly ok and spoke with them as he normally would and inquired about their day, which they refrained from saying much. The redness around Iruka's eyes was prominent enough for Sasuke to see that the teacher hadn't been this strong all day. Had the circumstances been better Sasuke would have told Iruka about coming out to Sakura and how that had surprisingly turned out a million times better than he would have ever thought it would. However, after about ten minutes longer Iruka sighed and announced that they eventually had to go home, so they helped him clean up for Monday.
Naruto didn't say much as they traveled home but was sure to fill in any silent moments as best he could. Because Naruto was lacking his usual eagerness, Sasuke tried to think of topics to keep the noise and distraction up but wasn't use to this role. It made him realize how much work Naruto does to be the clown that he is. When they arrived home Sasuke was in the middle of trying to convince Naruto to get Sakura to stop hugging so much when they entered the living room to see that Kakashi was already home. Both teens went silent as they tried to calculate the best reaction. Beside him, Sasuke could feel Naruto tensing up, so the raven did the only logical thing he could think of, leave so the adults could speak. He grabbed the front of Naruto' shirt and dragged him off so that Kakashi and Iruka could talk things out.
Surprisingly Naruto didn't complain and even continued to follow when Sasuke released his hold on him half way down their hallway. Naruto followed Sasuke in to the raven's room and silently climbed onto the bed. The blonde was fidgety but quiet, so Sasuke decided it was alright for now. They sat in Sasuke's room for a few minutes, just sitting and playing with their phones, when Sasuke got a text from Gaara. 'How are things?'
Just about that time Sasuke could hear Iruka and Kakashi's muffled voices. 'Their talking right now' He sent back.
Sasuke's phone buzzed again but he ignored it for the moment to pull out his sketchbook. "Let me draw you." Naruto flopped over on the bed, causing it to bounce, with his head propped up on his hand and wiggled his eyebrows. "Do you have to make the same joke every time?"
"Yes." He answered plainly before sitting up and moving so that he was across from the raven again. "You going to check those?" Sasuke looked down to his phone where Naruto had pointed.
He now had three messages. Two from Gaara. 'Hope it all goes well.' and 'Is that all that's bothering you?. Then one from Sakura, a picture message of her in a store wearing a short pink dress. 'Should I get it?' Was the message sent along with the photo.
"Hn. Your kidding me." Naruto looked up from his phone and leaned over to see what had caused Sasuke sound annoyed. "Is she going to treat me like the 'gay friend' stereotype?" Sasuke asked already feeling exasperated.
A grin spread across Naruto's face. "I think it looks nice. What are you going to tell her?"
"Well." Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "Obviously I'm going to tell her to buy a loose belt to go with it but that is beside the point!" Instead of laughing like Sasuke had expected Naruto looked struck and even dropped his jaw dramatically to exaggerate it. "What?"
"Sasuke no, that dress doesn't look like it's suppose to be held down with a belt, she should definitely just let it be all flowy and cute." Tapping his chin and humming, Naruto continued to think way too hard about it in Sasuke's opinion. "A sun hat would look cute."
Shaking his head Sasuke moved his phone away from the blond. "Oh please, like Sakura needs to hide from the sun anymore than she already does. She needs to tan up if she wants to pull off that colour." Sasuke started to text her just that when Naruto and Sasuke both heard Iruka and Kakashi yelling back and fourth 'is not' and 'is so'. He sent the message to Sakura containing his and Naruto's ideas and then turned to Naruto, who seemed just as curious, and nodded his head at him. They both left Sasuke's room and split up to find out what was going on.
Sasuke saw that Naruto found Iruka in the living room so he figured he would check the kitchen. His guardian was messing around with food preparation and humming lightly to himself, so it was safe to assume things hadn't gone too horribly. Patiently he sat down at the table and waited for Kakashi to notice him.
When he did notice, he appeared happy enough and it made Sasuke feel more at ease, but he had to make sure. "Alright Sasuke, What is it? Are you going to boil me in tomato juice?" Kakashi smirked at his own joke and Sasuke glared before rolling his eyes.
When he motioned for Kakashi to sit, his parent did but raised an eyebrow at him. Sasuke saw over Kakashi's shoulder that they were having an Alfredo dinner but there weren't any prepared tomatoes. Sasuke took a breath and put that topic aside for later. "For now I'm going to ignore your choice in dinner. We need to talk about a certain annoying alcoholic that always seems to make my day worse." Sasuke saw Kakashi's mouth turn downward. "Have you explained to Iruka that Anko is just an overly touchy nitwit? You obviously didn't do anything with her, and if you did I swear I will disown you after stick you in the worst nursing home I can find."
Kakashi rolled his eyes with a smirk and stood as he answered. "No, Sasuke I didn't do anything with her, yes I explained it. Iruka is still kinda peeved but as far as I know things are alright. Just in case I'm going to make a nice dinner." That being apparently the end of it all, Kakashi went back to preparing the chicken.
Not seeing any movements to correct the lack of tomatoes, Sasuke decided to do it himself since he no longer needed to feel concerned about a splitting family. He went to the fridge and decided on two of the ripest tomatoes he could find before bringing them to the cutting board next to Kakashi. They worked carefully around each other, or rather Sasuke handed Kakashi things when he asked for them, until Kakashi ruffled Sasuke's hair and ruined what Sasuke would have considered a nice moment.
"Can you not." Sasuke snapped tugging his sleeves back up his arm in annoyance. He had already stained this jacket once before, he wasn't about to do it again because kakashi was a buffoon.
"Sasuke, how has life been to you? We haven't talked in a while, am I losing you? Has my baby boy stopped loving me?" Kakashi asked dramatically draping his arms around the raven's shoulders.
"Yes he has." After shoving off Kakashi, Sasuke ran his hands through his hair and tried once more to finish dicing his tomatoes in peace. As he took up the knife though the started to remember everything that happened that day and the thoughts about telling his parents about Gaara. If he was going to tell either of them it would probably be safer to tell Kakashi. He could always test the situation with a sort of vague question. "Kakashi, how do you know if you're dating someone if neither of you have asked the other out?"
The man stopped and turned to Sasuke in wonder, he shook himself out of his stupor and cleared his throat to answer. "Usually if no one asks, then you're not really dating. It depends on what the situation is." Sasuke nodded in thought. "Is something like that happening to you?"
"Gaara." quickly Sasuke snapped his mouth shut. He forgot how easy it was to talk to Kakashi. It had always felt like the right thing to just spill everything to Kakashi, and it felt so now. He turned to look at Kakashi so he could properly explain. "Gaara kissed me, kisses me." He amended, he didn't want to lie. "At first it was just to make Naruto go away, but now when he comes over we sometimes kiss." Maybe a little bit of lie, he didn't want him to worry about their relationship at school. "He just sometimes pulls my sketchbook away and it just happens." Sasuke unconsciously grabbed his raven necklace and ran his thumb over the warm metal to calm himself. He could feel the frustration of everything starting to make him a little too nervous. "I'm not sure of what he thinks that makes us, but I definitely don't want anything with him. I'm not entirely sure why I don't punch him when he does do that." Again Sasuke snapped his mouth shut to stop anymore word vomit from escaping.
Now feeling out of breath Sasuke placed a hand on the counter to steady himself in case he passed out. He wanted to say more but bit the inside of his cheek to keep from continuing his nervous babble. He hated it, but he had to admit that it felt nice to talk to Kakashi, Now he just hopes Kakashi isn't ashamed of him or angry at his adoptive son for being dissolute.
"See now, when you say he just grabs you and kisses you," Kakashi looked up at the ceiling and narrowed his eyes, Sasuke wasn't sure what that meant. He licked his lips then looked at Sasuke once more and the raven prepared for a lecture. "It's consensual?"
An alleviation for sure, but Sasuke wanted to laugh at the question."Yes, Kakashi, I'm not being raped." Gaara may look scary but he is honestly the least likely to fight let alone force himself onto someone and Sasuke trusted his friend to never hurt him.
Kakashi gave a small shake of his head though."I'm not joking. You should never let anyone pressure you into anything. Even guys can be pushed into doing things they don't want to." Simply nodding seemed like the best route at this point. Sasuke knew Gaara wouldn't ever do anything like that but he knew Kakashi more than likely didn't only mean this advice to be applied to Gaara. "Now, about this random kissing thing; if you don't want to date him, be sure to make it clear to him. I know you and Naruto don't exactly get along, but if it makes you feel better you can have Naruto there as well to make sure things don't turn out badly."
While Sasuke though everything over, Kakashi continued to get things ready. Slowly Sasuke diced the last his tomatoes, all the while his brow was furrowed in concentration. "If I tell Gaara I don't want to date him, he will stop kissing me right?" The question slipped out. Kakashi shrugged as he stirred the pot of noodles he was making. "What if that's all I want? Isn't that a bit whorish, if all I want is to kiss." Keeping his head low Sasuke forced his eyes to not peek to see what his guardian's reaction would be to such a question.
"No it's not being a whore." Kakashi seemed like he was on the verge of a panic. Maybe talking this much with his guardian wasn't such a great idea. "Sometimes people want to do stuff with other people, but they don't exactly want a relationship. It doesn't make you a bad person or anything. It just means you're frustrated and want to express it in a physical manner. As long as you're safe, don't go too far with it, and both parties know that a relationship isn't part of the equation then it's alright. I suppose, maybe you should ask Iruka to confirm that."
"You mean check with Iruka to make sure you didn't just tell me that I could go be with whoever I wanted." Kakashi shrugged and it made Sasuke laugh quietly. "Don't worry, I got it."
"Good, I don't think I would have been able to explain it in any other way." Sasuke rolled his eyes as he swiped the cubes of tomatoes into a bowl. Kakashi ruffled his hair again and moved away quickly to avoid being hit. "Just expect me to pop in more now that I know Gaara has an interest in you. Should I make you leave your door open?"
Mortified Sasuke snapped. "No! I knew telling you was a bad idea." With that Sasuke left taking his bowl of tomatoes with him.
"Love you son!" Sasuke flipped Kakashi the bird as he left the room. He should have said it was someone else, like that Lee kid in class. Lee never comes over so it wouldn't have been that big a deal for Kakashi to think it was Lee. Then again, Kakashi would probably suspect Sasuke had been lying if he ever saw the bushy-browed kid. Either way, as he walked back to his room he felt better. He knew that Kakashi hadn't told him anything he didn't already know or suspect, but talking had helped some. Now he could think better and while he walked a bought of courage made Sasuke determined to tell Gaara that their relationship should remain at the friendship boundaries. He felt good about the decision even, relieved.
Kakashi had suggested bringing Naruto if he talked to Gaara in person, but Sasuke didn't think that would be necessary. Besides, it was a private matter that Naruto's presence would probably make extremely awkward.
As he entered his room and saw his phone on his bed, the raven remember he never did message Gaara back. putting the tomatoes on his desk, he picked up his phone and typed out a quick message before the courage he felt could falter. 'They are good now. Do you think we could move away from the kissing.' He sent it and then quickly picked up his sketchbook to distract himself from regretting things. Even as he mindlessly drew in his book he still felt the twisting feeling of anticipation and worry picking away at his determination.
The phone started ringing, not just his text notification, a full on ring. "Shit." Sasuke picked it up and answered. "Hello."
"Hey. I needed to tell you that I'm asexual." Sasuke froze, what did that have to do with what they were talking about?
"Ok, I'm glad you told me. But, Gaara, what does that have to do with what I texted you about?" While he waited for an answer Sasuke picked at his nails. It was a habit that he wasn't sure he would ever quite.
"You said you wanted to move away from kissing. I don't think I could do that comfortably. Especially not so early in a relationship or in a relationship that isn't even real." It started to click slowly in Sasuke's head and he, for the second time that day, felt mortified.
"Gaara! No that isn't what I had been implying. No! I was trying to ask you if you would hate me if I asked to stop kissing. Just go back to being best friends like we were or would it ruin everything?" Gaara made a sound of understanding and then silence. "I realize I shouldn't have took advantage of your feelings and I am sorry, but I don't think I want to continue."
Thankfully Gaara replied quickly, and while his tone was as dry as usual, Sasuke could tell there wasn't any ill will. "Yeah, we can do that. Also, you shouldn't feel sorry. I'm the one that kissed you, so I'm sorry that I made you uncomfortable. Friends?" Sasuke sighed heavily and nodded before remembering that Gaara wasn't there to see it. They continued to talk for a few more minutes. Eventually though Gaara had to take a call from someone else so they hung up and Sasuke leaned back against his pillows feeling light headed and exhausted. The day had held a lot for him and it felt nice for the most part.
His phone buzzed with a message. Sasuke groaned when he read it. 'i think Iruka and Kakashi are in trouble. Im kinda freaking outt' Standing up, Sasuke headed to Naruto's room to explain that everything was fine. His plan after that was to pass out, for sure. Things may be getting better but that deep sleep hadn't stopped calling to the raven and he was only barely keeping himself from being pulled in. Unfortunately when he arrived at Naruto's room it became clear that Naruto was, in fact, freaking out and that this would probably take more time than he thought.
Hey, hope you liked it. I changed a a couple of things that I had messed up in the first story so sorry if things may be confusing if your comparing it to 'Let's Get Along'. I'm not sure if it all flows, but here it is. Please review! Thank you.