Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!
Summary: COMPLETE (new chapter up everyday - total of 35 chapters!). Sasuke's a writer whose been writing the same words for years. He's tired, he's annoyed, and his money situation is...pretty messed up, even by student standards. Enter Naruto. Modern AU (College/University), Sasunaru/Narusasu. Posted for Sasuke's birthday!
A/N: It's a longer one again today :) I hope you enjoy!
Enter Naruto
Chapter 25: Loved
"I can only stay for a minute, I'm afraid." He heard Itachi talking to Naruto's parents as he came down the stairs. "I'm only dropping something off."
"What are you dropping off?" Sasuke asked as he came into the room.
"This."
Itachi held out a simple, plastic card. A credit card.
"Merry Christmas."
Sasuke frowned, not taking it.
"Why do I want this? I thought we weren't giving gifts this year."
"We aren't," Itachi said, "it's not from me."
Sasuke stared at him.
"Your tuition has also been paid in full," Itachi told him. "That took a little longer. The limit—"
"Whose name is it under?" Sasuke interrupted.
Itachi seemed to breath in a little.
"Our father's."
"Our father's."
It was the blood draining out of Sasuke's face that shook Naruto out of his own surprise—that and the vivid anger that flashed across it—
"Our father's?" His voice was steel.
Itachi sighed.
"What the fuck, Itachi?"
"I don't know," he said. "I don't know, Sasuke. But he wishes to financially support you—"
"Oh! Now he does, does he? After—after—" Sasuke spat out a breath, looking away.
Itachi didn't reply. Sasuke looked back at him, glaring.
"What did he say?"
Itachi's eyes closed for just a moment longer than a blink would call for. "Not much. You know how he is."
Sasuke barked out a laugh. There was no humour in it.
"Yeah—yeah, I do! So what the fuck is this?!"
"I don't know," Itachi said again. "Perhaps Naruto got through to him."
Naruto flinched as those angry eyes turned to him.
"I don't thi—" he started.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Sasuke was nearly yelling, now. "If he did—if Naruto—" he threw his arm out to gesture at him, "got through to him, why did he leave? Without saying—he didn't say a single word—"
"For what it's worth," Naruto couldn't help but admire the calmness that Itachi faced Sasuke's anger with, "he told me to tell you 'Merry Christmas'."
Sasuke stared at him, eyes wide, nostrils flaring.
"I don't want it."
"Sasuke," Itachi took a step forward, holding the card out, "you—"
With a swift motion, Sasuke slapped the card out of Itachi's hand.
"I don't want," he said, "his fucking money."
Naruto blinked, and Sasuke was gone.
He sighed.
"Do you want me to—?" Iruka, ever willing to resolve conflict, started.
"No," Naruto said, "I'll go. Hang on."
He thought he heard Itachi sigh as he left.
Naruto found Sasuke sitting on his bed, leg jittering up and down. He didn't look up as Naruto entered.
Naruto closed the door gently, and leaned against it, keeping quiet.
"…Why is he like this?" Sasuke's voice sounded surprisingly calm considering the state of the rest of him.
"Who—your dad?" The question was rhetorical, really—of course Sasuke meant his father. "I don't know. I thought…"
Naruto shook his head. He had tried to tell Sasuke's dad that money wasn't the way to go, but—
"It's always money. It always has been. It's like—it's like how he communicates," Sasuke hissed the words through his teeth. "He can't open his fucking mouth, so he just opens his wallet."
Naruto grimaced.
"…Have you tried talking to him about it?"
Sasuke gave Naruto a look.
"Okay—no, I mean," Naruto ran a hand through his hair, "I know he's an ass, but maybe if he heard this stuff from you—"
"He wouldn't listen."
"He might. He might listen now."
Sasuke frowned, and Naruto let the silence fill the room for a moment.
"D'you think this is his way of apologizing?"
Sasuke snorted.
"It's his way of avoiding apologizing. I don't want it."
"I know you don't," Naruto scratched his chin, "but maybe you should consider it."
Sasuke scowled at him.
"I just mean—like, you don't have to use it, but don't spit in his face about it," Naruto quickly continued when Sasuke looked like he might interrupt, "even if it's justified—I know it's justified. I know. I just mean—he seems like he has a lot of…pride, y'know? And if you reject this…"
Naruto trailed off, unsure what to say. Sasuke looked away from him again, but remained silent.
"Listen," Naruto said, "your dad—he's just a person. He's living life the only way he knows how, and changing that—changing the way you are and the way you live and viewing things a different way—that's gonna take time. And a lot of effort. But I think…I don't think it's hopeless. I really think you can get through to him; it just might take some time."
Sasuke's scowl had eased some—it was getting more thoughtful than angry. Naruto took it as the smallest victory he could.
"If he hadn't walked out yesterday—even if we had fought," he said, "I would have considered it. But this…this delivery on his behalf, as if he can't even bother with me—"
Sasuke cut himself off, and Naruto grimaced. It was a good point. If only Sasuke's dad had had the guts to come here himself…
A knock on the door made Naruto jump.
"Sorry, boys," Kakashi said, opening the door a little. He held his phone in his hand, "but I thought Sasuke would like to hear this as soon as possible."
"Hear what?" Sasuke's shoulders straightened and his chin tilted up—Naruto thought he might be bracing himself.
"You have a meeting with an editor—from Konoha Publishers. She would like to meet as soon as possible to discuss options with you. Would you be open to that?"
Sasuke blinked—once, and then again. Naruto's head spun back to him with such speed that he felt his neck protest—
"I—" Sasuke seemed to swallow his words, nodding almost frantically, "ye—yes. Yes."
Kakashi smiled.
"I'll let her know. Congratulations, Sasuke."
And then he left, leaving Sasuke staring at the doorway and Naruto absolutely beaming at him.
"Sasuke," he breathed.
The corners of Sasuke's lips started to rise.
"Sasuke!" Naruto jumped to his feet, grabbing Sasuke's hands and waving them around. His heart felt like it was going to burst—this was so amazing and incredible and Sasuke deserved every single bit of it—
Sasuke's face finally broke out into a smile.
"Sasuke! You did it!" Naruto said, still holding Sasuke's hands in the air.
Sasuke gave a small—breathy, disbelieving—laugh.
"It's only a meeting, Naruto—there's no guarantee…"
"Nope!" Naruto used Sasuke's own hands to whack at him. "You can't sell yourself short to me. This is fucking amazing and you know it!"
Sasuke attempted to bite down on his smile, but it stayed strong.
"We have to celebrate!"
Sasuke snorted, looking away for a second.
"Okay," he conceded finally, "but first, I have an idea."
True to Kakashi's word, both Naruto and Sasuke were downstairs in only a few minutes. Itachi frowned, eyeing the grey-haired man. What had he told them that had been so effective?
"Itachi," Sasuke addressed him immediately, "can I borrow your phone?"
Itachi blinked in surprise for a moment, before automatically handing it to him. Why did he want…?
Oh.
"Hello, father."
In his defense, Naruto seemed just as surprised as he was. Sasuke paced away from them, his free hand in his pocket.
"Yes, it is."
There was a pause.
"Thank you for the gift," he bent down to pick the card off the floor—Itachi supposed they ought to have picked it up before, "but I cannot accept it."
Naruto's head spun towards Sasuke. Itachi felt himself grimace. That…
"I'd like to meet with you to discuss it. In person." Sasuke switched hands, flexing the hand that had been holding the phone—he must have been gripping it too tightly.
"Let me know. Yes. That is fine."
He turned back towards them, still avoiding eye contact.
"Alright. Goodbye."
The moment he hung up the phone, Sasuke received an armful of blonde. He passed Itachi his phone.
"So…?" Itachi prompted.
"So I'm only going to accept the card if he hands it to me," Sasuke said simply. "He isn't going to earn my forgiveness without even saying a word."
Sasuke flicked the card towards Itachi, who took it, feeling a bit taken aback. This was…
"You are so badass!" Naruto gave a disbelieving laugh. "Did he sound surprised? I bet he had no idea."
Sasuke smirked a little.
"He was surprised." He turned to Itachi. "I think he'll contact you to get in touch with me again. You can give him my number if you'd like."
Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock. Itachi felt like stumbling backwards.
"I'm sick of running from him," Sasuke said. "If he wants to put some effort forth, he can go ahead. It's up to him, now."
There was a pause.
"Is this my fault?" Kakashi suddenly spoke up. "Did I give him too much confidence?"
Naruto laughed. Even Sasuke's smile couldn't seem to falter.
"I think so," Naruto said, dodging as Sasuke made to whack him.
"Sasuke's meeting with—oh, can I tell him?" Iruka turned to Sasuke, who nodded. "Sasuke's meeting with an editor in a few weeks, about his book. He just found out."
Sasuke took great satisfaction in seeing his brother's mouth hang open—even if it was only the slightest bit. He hadn't exactly been updating his brother on his writing, so this—
Sasuke stumbled back as he was suddenly enveloped in a hug. Of all the reactions he had expected from his brother, this was…
"I am," Itachi whispered, "so proud of you."
Sasuke sucked in a shuddering breath, feeling completely frozen. He barely managed to put his hands on Itachi's back before his eyes started to burn.
Naruto shuffled around the kitchen, resisting the nearly overwhelming urge to eavesdrop. They had moved away to give Itachi and Sasuke some privacy, but Naruto was dying of curiosity—
"So, what should we do to celebrate? What does Sasuke like?" Iruka spoke first.
"Uh," Naruto said, "we could go for ramen?"
"This is a celebration for him, not you," Kakashi laughed, "and what about everything we've already made?"
"Well—!"
"What about champagne? Do we have some lying around?" Iruka asked.
"We do," Kakashi replied. "What else? We could go somewhere—even if it's not for ramen."
Naruto stuck out his tongue.
"What about the skating rink? Does Sasuke know how to skate?" Iruka asked.
"I—uh," Naruto wracked his brain, "I have no idea."
"We can always let Sasuke choose what he would like to do," Kakashi pointed out. "The rink might be too busy today."
"True..." Sasuke wasn't really one for social events in the first place…what would Sasuke like to do? Other than the obvious, far less celebratory, staying in with a good book?
The sound of the front door opening was Naruto's signal to nearly sprint back to the entrance.
"You can't stay?" Iruka asked, just as Itachi was halfway out the door.
"Unfortunately, no." Itachi turned back to look at them. "Thank you very much for having me."
"Of course," Iruka replied. "You're welcome anytime."
With a nod and a small smile, Itachi left—giving a small wave in answer to Naruto's "bye, Itachi! Merry Christmas!"
One delicious dinner later, Sasuke's stomach was turning, and it certainly wasn't because of the food. He absolutely hadn't been thinking straight when he agreed to go skating—something he had never done in his life—with Naruto and his family.
He swallowed, gripping the railing. These skates were uncomfortable, there were about a million people here and it was fucking freezing. Why hadn't he worn an extra sweater? Naruto's hoodie had been literally sitting right there when they had—
"Hey," Naruto's voice cut through his thoughts like a knife, and they faded away in the face of his smile.
"You ready?" Aided by the crowd, Naruto's body pressed close against his. The world suddenly felt much warmer.
Sasuke nodded, and Naruto took his hands.
It was almost as if they were dancing.
After Naruto's first few shaky attempts to let Sasuke go, he had given up—happy to hold the Uchiha stable as they moved. Not that Naruto was any genius at ice-skating himself, but he could hold himself upright…most times.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was like a newborn deer finding its legs—if that deer had a very fierce scowl, that was. Naruto grinned as the scowl turned on him—Sasuke had caught him trying to move away again. Not far, mind you, but just an arm's length.
He wiggled Sasuke's arms a little, laughing at the split-second of alarm that flashed across his face. It was so, so hard not to kiss Sasuke right now. Naruto had to consistently consciously remind himself that they were not alone—and that kissing would not exactly help Sasuke's instability.
And on one hand, he really ought to push Sasuke to try skating on his own, but on the other hand, there was something so wonderful about how the Uchiha refused to let go of him…
He raised one of Sasuke's hands above his head, and spun. Sasuke grabbed ahold of him immediately after he finished turning, and he laughed again.
The tips of Sasuke's fingers were cold—his cheeks were flushed from the sting of the wind—Naruto knew they would have to leave, soon, but he wanted to stay here with Sasuke for just a little longer…
"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered, his breath coming in puffs of steam. The sun had set, but the lights glittered all around them, reflecting off the ice as if they were stars. The crowd around them faded to a blur, and it was as if all that existed was just…Sasuke.
Just him and Sasuke…
"Teme."
"Brrr!" Iruka made a show of rubbing his hands together and shuffling over to the kitchen. "I'm going to make tea."
"That sounds good." Naruto shook himself. Sasuke was debating just keeping his coat on.
"I'm going to grab the champagne." Kakashi winked back at them as Iruka laughed. "Alcohol can keep you warm, too!"
"And we have to celebrate." Naruto grinned back at Sasuke.
"Are we not done celebrating?" They had done so much already…
"Nope." Naruto turned to him with a sly grin and lowered his voice a little. "We aren't nearly done yet…"
Sasuke sucked in a breath as Naruto moved forward—Naruto's lips felt warm and perfect against Sasuke's chilled ones. The kiss was soft and slow, almost tantalizing, and Sasuke could feel the need start to build inside him—
"Champagne!" Kakashi announced.
Naruto pulled away.
"More of that later," the blonde whispered, winking as he moved past him.
"Loud noise incoming!"
A loud pop! followed Kakashi's voice, and Sasuke followed Naruto into the kitchen for a glass of champagne.
"You're all nuts," Iruka said, dutifully taking the glass Kakashi handed to him. "Champagne is cold."
"You can pour it into your tea if you want." Naruto passed Sasuke a glass, grinning at Iruka's disgusted expression.
"Alright!" Kakashi raised his glass, waiting until everyone else followed suit. "To Sasuke—and his future. May it be very bright."
Sasuke shifted, feeling his face grow hot under Kakashi's meaningful gaze—his professor was more than familiar with the way he described Naruto in his writing (that being, in most cases, bright)—but he felt Naruto's hand subtly take his and he couldn't help but give it a small squeeze.
"Cheers!"
It wasn't long before Naruto's parents left them to their own devices. Sasuke seemed to eye him the moment he had the chance.
"What?" Naruto feigned innocence, but he couldn't bring himself to tear his eyes away from Sasuke. The Uchiha tilted his head up to finish his champagne, and Naruto's eyes drifted down to Sasuke's neck as his Adam's apple bobbed—
He put the glass down, and his body seemed to shiver.
"Still cold?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke nodded, eyes scanning Naruto's face. Naruto felt a wave of arousal rush through him at that look—that look of lust, of desire, that Sasuke was giving him—
"Let me fix that."
Sasuke didn't resist as Naruto used his body to push them up the stairs.
"This isn't making me warmer," Sasuke muttered as Naruto practically ripped his clothes off.
Naruto laughed and shoved him into the bed, wrapping the blankets over the both of them. He wiggled his body against Sasuke's as he leaned in for a soft, slow kiss.
"Better?" He whispered as he pulled away.
Sasuke only replied by pulling him back down again. Naruto stifled a shudder at the feeling of Sasuke's hands running up and down his body—squeezing, pulling him close—he suddenly regretted his position on top of Sasuke because these kisses were making him feel so weak—
Naruto moaned into Sasuke's mouth as he pulled their hips together—he really wasn't going to be able to last much longer if they kept this up. There was no better feeling than knowing that Sasuke wanted him—no better feeling than Sasuke's hands on him, Sasuke's skin against him—Sasuke—Sasuke—
Naruto broke the kiss, gasping for air as he ruthlessly suppressed his orgasm. He was going to make this last—this was—
Naruto's eyes opened.
This night was about Sasuke.
He leaned forwards, pressing a kiss—far more chaste than the others had been—
to Sasuke's lips.
"What?" Sasuke's voice was breathy—Naruto felt his desire spike at the sound. He smiled.
"I love you," he said simply. Sasuke blinked—his eyes becoming just a little more awake. Naruto kissed him again.
"You said you wanted to try," he had slipped between Sasuke's legs, now—almost unconsciously—god, Sasuke's skin was so smooth, "at Lee's birthday—you said you wanted to try."
Naruto swallowed, leaning in against Sasuke's neck—taking a moment to just feel their bodies together—
"I do," Sasuke's voice was low—barely there—but Naruto heard it and the thrill lashed through him like a whip—he couldn't stop the smile if he had all the strength in the world—
"Can I show you what it'll be like? Like you did?"
He pulled back to meet Sasuke's eyes—holding his own hand to his chest, in case Sasuke said—
"Yeah."
Naruto let out a breath—a relieved, delighted breath—
"Yeah?"
Sasuke's mouth widened into that soft, affectionate smile—the one Naruto was almost positive Sasuke didn't know about, but it was his favourite—
"Yes, usuratonkachi."
The laugh bubbled up in Naruto's chest—he let it out against Sasuke's lips, as they moved together—against each other—kissing Sasuke was so effortless, so satisfying—it was always a battle to move himself away from those lips—even with how desperately he wanted to kiss every inch of Sasuke—
But he had an idea—and there was no way he wasn't going to see it through.
"Turn around," he whispered, pulling back from Sasuke just enough to grab the lube. As it was, like this, Naruto would have to pull away to touch Sasuke properly—but if he turned around—
"Like—this?" Sasuke looked back at him, and Naruto's heart damn nearly stopped—
"Yeah," he swallowed, "yeah, like that."
He grabbed the blankets, pulling them over the two of them as he pressed up against Sasuke—with the way he was kneeling, Naruto could straddle one of his legs, not quite in the position to take him from behind, but dangerously close—
He wrapped an arm around his waist so he could grip Sasuke's cock properly—his own pushed right up against Sasuke's thigh—his hips—Naruto let out a breath just to try to get rid of some of the pleasure—
"Sasuke," he breathed, pushing forwards as he pumped Sasuke's cock—his hips moved with Sasuke's, as if thrusting into him—Sasuke thrusting into his hand—
"Mm," Sasuke gave a soft—stifled—moan, head bending down to press into the pillows, but he kept his hips raised—he kept them moving—
"You want more?" He prompted, even as he uncapped the lube—because Sasuke seemed content to remain a soft, trembling mess in Naruto's hand—
"...Yeah."
The word was so soft—so muffled—that Naruto thought he might have dreamed it up. He definitely was going to dream of this later—nearly every fucking night, because—
He pushed a finger in.
"Nngh—"
Sasuke let out a noise and Naruto immediately slowed his pace—as lost in lust as he was, this was still about Sasuke—his own desire was nothing in comparison to how wild he wanted to drive Sasuke, how incredible he wanted to make him feel—
"Is it good?" He tasted the sweat along Sasuke's back. "Is it okay?"
"It's good," Sasuke panted, "it's good—keep moving—"
Naruto pushed in further, keeping the pace with his other hand, but searching—searching for Sasuke's prostate—Sasuke would have never felt this before—
"Tell me when I'm there," he twisted his finger, debating pressing in another—he had only just put in the first, but that didn't stop him from wanting to, "tell me when you feel it."
"When I—hah—"
"You'll know when you feel it," he whispered, still searching—searching—
"I—ah!" Sasuke's eyes flew open wide—his body seizing underneath him—Naruto felt the precum leak out of his cock. "Th—ah—"
There.
"Yeah," Naruto breathed—it was more like a moan—pressing up against Sasuke's prostate again—Sasuke body contracted against him—
"That—ah—th—nngh—"
Sasuke's body twisted underneath him, as if desperately trying to keep himself up but unable to—Naruto knew the feeling—that overwhelming pleasure that left you so weak—
Naruto pressed in a second finger, pushing Sasuke's hips along with it—Sasuke pushed back—
"Fuck, Sasuke—" At this rate—
"Keep—hah—keep doing that—Naruto," Sasuke's words came in pants—it came in time with how they moved—with the way they moved together, the way Sasuke pushed back every time Naruto thrust forward—it was really feeling like—really starting to feel like—
"Nngh—Sasuke—"
"Naruto—ah—"
—like they were having sex—
"Shit—Sasuke—I'm—"
"Mm," Sasuke's head twisted, his body tensed, "yeah—"
There was just no way—there was just no chance—Sasuke was trembling underneath him and he could feel how close he was—how on the edge—Naruto just—he just couldn't help it—
"Sa—Sa—" It was building up—it was twisting and coiling and expanding and building and building and building and Naruto was going to explode—he bit down on Sasuke's shoulder and felt Sasuke's cock contract in his fingers—
"Nngh—god, Naruto—ah!"
He had never heard Sasuke's voice sound quite like that—never heard it crack like that—Naruto's orgasm rocketed through him and it was as if his entire world shifted—
"Fuck, Sasuke," he gasped—pleasure echoing through him, "—ve you—I love you—I—"
Sasuke only gasped in response, breathing in as if he had never breathed before—Naruto felt his body slip through his fingers. He didn't bother trying to catch him—preferring to collapse right with him; he was shaking, too—
"I—came all over your bed," Sasuke mumbled. "I'm getting it everywhere—"
"I don't care," Naruto clutched him tighter, "I came all over your back. I love you." He felt so—so overwhelmed. Sasuke was incredible on a bad day and today had been anything but—
"You keep saying that." Sasuke shifted underneath him—Naruto moved back so he could roll over properly.
"And I'm gonna keep saying it." He pressed a kiss to Sasuke's collarbone—up to his shoulders. "It spends all day building up and I have to get it out somehow or I'll go crazy—"
Sasuke snorted, gently pressing a fist on the top of Naruto's head.
"You're already crazy."
"Crazy for you." Naruto grinned, pressing a kiss to Sasuke's neck.
"That tickles." Sasuke shifted underneath him, but Naruto only smiled, pressing another kiss to his skin before laying his head back down.
There was a pause. A part of him was content just to close his eyes, succumbing to Sasuke warmth—but the other part knew there was no way Sasuke was gonna be comfortable sleeping like this…
"Naruto." Sasuke's voice broke him out of his thoughts.
"Hm?" Naruto dragged his consciousness up a few levels.
"You…" Sasuke paused; Naruto felt him swallow, and he forced himself to sit up.
"Hey," he said, looking Sasuke in his eye, "what's up?"
Sasuke's eyes scanned his—he looked so serious, so solemn.
"Why are you okay with me not…replying?"
Naruto blinked.
"Wh—oh—like not saying I love you, you mean?"
Sasuke nodded. Naruto leaned a bit closer to Sasuke's body, thinking. Well—for one thing—he was pretty positive Sasuke did love him. At least a little bit. He had been pretty sure Sasuke was starting to to love him before he read the manuscript—and then he had sat down and read the whole thing back to front and he had—he had really just felt—
Loved.
Sasuke made him feel loved.
He pressed a kiss to Sasuke's skin.
But he wasn't going to tell Sasuke that. Not yet—not until Sasuke told him so. He wanted Sasuke to realize it—on his own—so Naruto could honestly be sure it wasn't just really, really wishful thinking—
"It's hard to explain." He rubbed his thumb along Sasuke's chest. "I guess I just—I'm just happy being with you. I don't need…like, I know you care about me. Right?"
He gave Sasuke a teasing smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but his hand moved to rest on top of Naruto's.
"Yeah. I dunno. Love is…" Naruto let out a breath, running a thumb along Sasuke's hand in thought, "hard to like—put in a box. It's hard to explain. So I…I can't ask you to know exactly what you feel when it comes to something like that."
There was a pause.
"But you know how you feel."
Naruto shrugged.
"Yeah, but like…I was forced into all this a long time ago," he said, sitting up further. "I had a lot of times where I was…confronted with it, y'know?"
"With…your parents?"
Naruto nodded.
"Yeah—and my ex-boyfriends, too. I cared about them—y'know—but I didn't love them. I had that time to figure that out—to kind of…explore those emotions, I guess."
Sasuke didn't reply, eyeing Naruto with a speculative gaze.
"Y'know what I think is gonna happen?" Naruto asked, fighting a grin. "I'm gonna do something so dumb, you're gonna be like well I have to be in love with him because why the fuck would I be dating—"
Sasuke reached up and shoved him backwards, and Naruto's words dissolved into laughter.
"Usuratonkachi," he muttered, obviously fighting a smile. Naruto took it as a personal victory.
"C'mon," Naruto said, pulling him up, "let's clean this mess up."
A/N: I hope you liked it! Let me know :)
See you tomorrow,
- Kinomi