Hmmm. Hmmmmmmm. Questionable. To write, or not to write…that is the question. Well, I suppose it's the former of the two since I'm actually writing this right now. Funny how that works…I didn't think about that when I first started typing. Hmm. Apparently my hangover is worse than I thought. Har har har. Well, going to try and start on the next chapter of this, expect more Naruto and Sasuke time together…well, for longer periods of time anyway. Ha ha. Blegh. My head hurts…

Order And Chaos

The Business End

Sasuke presses again his closed left eye with the pointer and middle finger of his left hand, rubbing in small motions to will away the headache that he can feel coming on. He takes a deep, calculated breath of air before letting it out slowly. Only then does he allow himself to open up his eyes again.

He understands the why part of this. He even understands the need for this, especially since Itachi seems to be dead set on bringing Naruto into their business in the near future. Itachi hasn't verbally said it yet, but Sasuke can see it. It's in the way that Itachi has slowly begun to incorporate Naruto into their daily lives and the way that he has slowly been introducing Naruto to their more… undesirable friends.

Yes, he can understand all of this. He can even agree with it.

But why is has to be him doing it is a mystery.

Sasuke's black gaze falls onto Naruto's back. The blonde is dressed in what Sasuke has labeled as 'Itachi' fashion, semi tight dark washed jeans with a buttoned up blue shirt. Sasuke knows, since he has already seen it, that the first few buttons have been left undone to expose a sliver of tanned chest, and the tail of the shirt has been left un-tucked.

As if sensing Sasuke's eyes Naruto turns around and offers him a smile that makes Sasuke uncomfortable. It's not as if it's a creepy smile it's just Sasuke doesn't like it when Naruto smiles at him at all. Period.

He begins speaking slowly as if Naruto is a little child with ADHD that won't be able to understand him. "Alright. Let's start with the basics. Have you ever held one before?"

He watches as Naruto's brows furrow ever so slightly and then blue eyes are being dragged away from his own to peer down at the table while he nibbles on a bottom lip. For a moment it almost seems that he won't answer the question but then he does, speaking even slower than Sasuke (who immediately picks up the strange hesitation that Naruto seems to harbor.)

"Nooo…I haven't." There is a pause before he continues. "They make me…nervous." The last word sounds more like a question in Sasuke's ears but he shrugs it off for now, moving to stand beside Naruto and reach out to pick up what Naruto is staring at.

"It's not like it's going to hurt you by itself. It's not an animal, it's an inanimate object that's only dangerous when handled by ignorant individuals." He runs his free hand out over the steel, reveling in the feel of it beneath his fingers.

He turns to Naruto and holds the gun up, pointing it to the side as he taps a small round button just behind the back of the trigger well. "This is the clip release, you always push this button to drop it. There's not one in right now, so when I push it, nothing happens. You see?" He doesn't wait to continue as he grips the pistol tighter with his left hand and places his cupped left hand over the rear portion of the slide. He quickly racks it back and then lets it go back forward gently.

"Racking back the slide will ensure that there is not a bullet in the chamber. This is something you must always do when picking up any gun that you are unfamiliar with, or if for any reason you have left your own gun out of your possession for any length of time. This is for safety. A gun can't hurt anyone if there is not a round in the chamber; never assume that a gun is safe. Always check it."

He meets curiously dull blue eyes, as if the blonde is standing here and listening to information but not really taking it in. Sasuke's own eyes narrow and he feels his lips wanting to turn into a frown but he resists. Instead he picks up the loaded clip from the table and demonstrates how to slide it up into the bottom of the grip, tapping it to make sure it is fully in.

"Now you're gun can be considered partially loaded. This is how most people keep their hand guns when they carry them around or keep them stored somewhere. It makes it easier to get to and fully arm whenever it is needed. This is not the best way to carry a gun because then if anything does happen then you have to take the extra few seconds to rack one into the chamber and by then someone may have beat you to it, and you'll be the one shot."

He places the gun back down on the table with the clip still in place and takes up two sets of black headphones, offering one to Naruto who takes it slowly. "When at a range always use ear protection. Some people think it's ridiculous, but it's better than losing your hearing ability before you are forty. Put them on."

He puts his own on and immediately the sounds of Naruto doing the same are muffled down to a whisper and he turns to face down the indoor range that he has brought the other man to. He doesn't do anything straight off, just eyeballs the target hanging in the air. He isn't quite sure how to proceed from here. He's never had to teach anyone about firearms handling and has definitely never had to teach someone how to shoot.

He sneaks a sidelong glance to Naruto and finds that the other male still has that strangely blank look in his eyes while his brows stay somewhat furrowed. It's a strange combination that Sasuke doesn't know what to make of. He motions to the gun and raises his voice so that the other man will be able to hear him.

"Pick it up in whatever you're dominant hand is and do like I showed you with the slide. This time a round will feed from the clip into the chamber, and the weapon will be hot. There isn't a safety on this gun, the safety is the trigger. Don't put your finger on the trigger until you are ready to fire. This is only a nine, it's not got the kick of something like a forty five caliber but it's still going to jump. There, that's right, now it's hot. Ok.."

Sasuke pauses and tries to think if he should just let the man try shooting or if he should actually attempt to coach him. His more sense driven instincts win out in the end and he moves closer, hands moving down to position Naruto's hands on the gun.

"There, better. Don't take up such a death grip on the thing, it's not going to kill you as long as your safe with it. Alright bring your arms up, yeah.." He guides Naruto's arms up and out, pointing the gun down range. He nods to himself, hands absently running along the arm closest to him to make sure that Naruto isn't locking his elbows out. Then he feels at Naruto's wrist, satisfied that they aren't locked back.

"That's good," he mumbles to himself, half focused on what he is doing and half focused on the heat radiating off of Naruto's body. It's a strange thing to notice at that particular moment and he finds that he actually doesn't mind standing so close to him or touching him. In fact, he would venture to bet that he-

He snaps back into reality with the realization that he has been standing there with his hands unmoving on Naruto's forearm and his eyes flick to Naruto's face. He has turned his head to look at Sasuke, his blue eyes burning holes into Sasuke's own. There is an unreadable expression floating around in those orbs and Sasuke doesn't like the way it makes his stomach flop over and he lets go of Naruto as if burned and motions down the lane.

"Try not to lock your wrists when you shoot and put enough pressure forward so that it doesn't kick back out of your hands. Slowly squeeze the trigger, don't just pull at it. And don't forget to breath. Don't try and hold your breath, it will only do you more harm than good."

He falls silent and is determined not to look at Naruto again until he absolutely has to. Instead he keeps his eyes firmly planted on the tan and black silhouette target hanging in the lane. After a few moments a dulled shot cracks out and Sasuke isn't sure where the bullet went because it's too far away to see the target.

To try and push away the fluttering in his stomach he bites down hard on his tongue.

…..

Sasuke peers at the silhouette target in his hands, the sandy brown paper creasing between his fingers as he tightens his grip on it, eyes narrowing. There are bullet holes all over the place, most of them not even hitting the black silhouette or barely nicking the edges of the paper, and he finds that his patience is thinning fast.

He turns his baleful gaze on the blonde standing in front of him who is wearing an idiotic grin and apologetic eyes, one of his tanned hands rubbing the back of his neck in a way that Sasuke has slowly discerned as nervous.

"You are completely bereft of any talent with a gun."

His words are flat and honest and he watches a darker blush spread out over the blondes cheeks as blue drops to the ground, sheepish. "Yeah, sorry. I haven't ever done something like this before and, well, it kind of scares me, you know?"

The words are halting, soft. Still hesitant. It makes Sasuke even more irritable. He has been bringing the idiot here for days now with no sign of improvement. He has never before seen such a lost cause.

"Itachi will not be pleased if you do not improve."

He watches the blonde carefully and because of that he sees the smallest of flinches at the corner of Naruto's eyes, the sign of fear that Sasuke knows is deep set and very real. The blonde does not answer the cruel taunt and for a second Sasuke feels bad. Almost.

He sighs and drops the target onto the table, leaning against the edge of it with his hip. Crossing his arms over his shoulder he focuses his full attention on Naruto and it makes the blonde shift and look back down at the ground.

"You'll just have to keep practicing. Even if you have to do it on your own…" He lets his words trail off here and for reasons that he won't understand until much later he continues with, "And Itachi doesn't have to know your exact progress. We'll just tell him that you are improving every time. He'll be satisfied with that."

It's a complete lie. Ever since that first day Naruto hasn't improved at all and that is simply insane in Sasuke's mind. How can someone not improve at all, with all the practice they have been doing? He just can't fathom someone being that bad.

The smile that Naruto throws his way makes his chest feel tight and against his will his hand moves up to press against the middle of his chest as his face winces. It's a quick wince that most wouldn't be able to catch but of course Naruto would and suddenly he is in front of Sasuke.

He's so close…too close. Sasuke's other free hand jerks up and presses palm flat against Naruto's chest while he pushes away from the table at the same time. The result that he is trying for fails and instead of pushing the man away he finds himself practically pressed up against Naruto, his arms tucked between their bodies, and his face inches away from Naruto's own.

Naruto's arms are wrapped around his upper half, as if he thought Sasuke had been falling and had instinctively acted to catch him. His blue eyes are wide and shocked and Sasuke is frozen because his mind has short circuited.

Naruto's breath is warm against Sasuke's face. He can feel the quick way that Naruto's chest is rising and falling with his breathing, and he can feel a rapid heartbeat hammering against Naruto's ribs with his arms. He needs to do something. What is it? He needs to…he needs to get out of Naruto's arms. That's what he should be doing right about now. Yes.

Then why isn't he doing it? Sasuke tries to wade through the thick mud that has become his mind and yet he can't find a reason as to why he's not moving. He can't come up with even an excuse as to why he's not even angry at Naruto's arms around him. He can't-

He's still holding on to me.

That single thought alone sends a buzz of surprise down his spine and he blinks once, twice. Those blue eyes are still very wide although no longer echoing surprise. Sasuke notes idly that the tanned face is tainted with a flush of color and he has to force himself not to call it a blush. He feels himself falling into that blue, absorbing the color like a sponge. This close he can see that they aren't just blue but multiple shades of blue. Around the pupil it spikes out in fits of icy blue that melt quickly into an almost turquoise color that fades into the color of the sea. At the edge a dark ring of deep blue keeps all the colors held in and sprinkles of sky blue flake randomly around in all the other blues. It's something fascinating to Sasuke. He's never seen eyes like that.

The sound of a sharp intake of breath that catches in the back of a throat is the only warning that Sasuke gets before suddenly the warmth that has been wrapped around him disappears and he blinks as he watches Naruto stumble back a few steps, his wide blue eyes now reflecting something more like disgust. Before Sasuke can make sense of it all the blonde is gone, the slamming of the range door echoing loudly in his ears.

….

Obviously this chapter encoporates a few days of them going to the range (or at least it's hinting at that, so that you can get the point that it HAS been a few days of them spending that time together.)

I hope you liked this chapter. I know the ending part probably confused some, but others might get it before I can even get Naruto's chapter out. I hope that you all enjoyed it.