Disclaimer: At this point, if you don't understand the concept of a disclaimer, there's no hope for you.
Author's Note: As always, thanks to the reviewers! One reviewer seemed to be close to putting the mystery together, which is surprising considering literally only two things are known about it: it's name and the name of a related person. Well, we start to learn more in this chapter, and we will soon find out what the Sharingan Project entails...But until then, a long-awaited moment between two characters.
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Kiss Heard 'Round the World
Of course, nothing stops time. Life moved on after Naruto was raped, and it moved on after he went to the mental hospital, and it moved on even after he found Sasuke passed out in the Uchiha laundry room. They had stopped the tape. Watching it further wouldn't help anyone, especially not Sasuke. After the Uchiha had awoken, he was silent, and Naruto didn't push him. By the next day, Sasuke was acting normal, and he didn't even once mention the video tape.
Naruto knew it wasn't healthy, but he didn't think dwelling on it would be any healthier. Sasuke needed to work this out in his own way, and when he did, Naruto would make sure he was there for his boyfriend.
For the next few weeks, Sasuke's mind was on other things, namely the Sharingan Project. While he didn't know what it was or how it could be significant in any way, he needed a distraction, and a little bit of sleuthing would provide a great one. Of course, he didn't really get much about it. Google didn't give Sasuke any help when he typed 'Sharingan Project' into the engine, and his trip to Madara's apartment to search for clues was a waste of time-all of Madara's papers and files had been gone when his body was found.
But that wasn't all occupying the Uchiha's time. After all, he did have finals coming up. And as much as he hated the idea of taking a test in his current mental state, some studying would also help distract him from the videotape of his mother. After all, there was no possible way for integrals and differential equations to stir up unwanted memories.
But still, the weeks passed in a flurry of internet searches and poured-over textbooks. Naruto and Sasuke's relationship became more physical, but the truth was that Naruto was still pulling back. Sasuke couldn't really get upset after everything Naruto went through, but it was getting pretty damn frustrating. Not only didn't they go any further than making out and feeling each other up, but Sasuke also had to wait until Naruto wasn't in their room to relieve himself, lest he make Naruto feel guilty.
And yes, during one of the few times his mind wasn't occupied by the Sharingan Project or finals, he did look up how soon rape victims begin participating in sexual activity. And he didn't like what he found. According to dozens of studies, it turns out most rape victims either experience increased promiscuity or experience sexual isolation that is hard to escape from. And let's just say that Naruto wasn't exactly being a slut right now.
But in everything other than sex, Naruto was the perfect boyfriend. He knew when Sasuke needed some space, and he knew when Sasuke needed a hug. He wasn't too clingy, but it was obvious that he cared. And he knew when something was wrong with Sasuke almost instantly.
It was because of Naruto that Sasuke refused to let himself get too depressed. It would just be so easy to, but he knew that he couldn't do that to Naruto. The blond was finally starting to really open up in their relationship, and Sasuke knew that even though the worst seemed behind him, Naruto had his fair share of demons that he needed help dealing with.
Ha! What a pair they were!
Before he knew it, Sasuke was leaving his last final, done with his first semester of college. He was pretty sure he did well in his exams; mostly As, maybe a B or two. And that was impressive considering the mind set he was in.
Despite the fact that he forced himself to forget that his mother was pregnant, he was still a mess. There was just way too much going on for him to handle at once. Sometimes he wondered how he did it. Almost twice in the last two weeks he had almost resorted to drinking to escape it. It made his problems before seem like child's play to the problems he had now. He very rarely felt happy anymore. In fact, he was starting to forget what feeling happy was like.
He threw open the door to his room, alerting Naruto to his presence. Wordlessly, the blond walked over to him with concern in his eyes and pulled him into a long, soft kiss. Sasuke enjoyed the feeling of Naruto's tongue against his own, but it still wasn't enough to melt the ice he felt inside him. Here was this guy who he loved, and even that couldn't distract him from his miserable life!
"How was the exam?" Naruto asked as he pulled away.
"Fine," Sasuke murmured. Naruto nodded and stepped back, letting Sasuke sit down at his desk. He had learned pretty quickly that Sasuke was going to be distant, and he let Sasuke have his space. Sasuke was thankful, but he felt guilty at the same time. Just a couple of weeks ago, he and Naruto were so solid that it seemed like nothing would tear them apart. Now, it wasn't like Sasuke and Naruto were in danger of breaking up, but they were becoming more distant, and Sasuke didn't like it.
Like it was ritual, Sasuke opened his laptop and pressed the power button, looking to the right of his monitor at the key card. The Sharingan Project. The words taunted him. There was absolutely no information online, and yet Sasuke kept trying. After Google turned up zero results, he began looking deeper and deeper, but still came up with nothing. He looked in mythology for a mention of Sharignan. He looked at classic Japanese literature looking for a mention, but still nothing.
He was getting frustrated before even starting to look online today! He threw his head back in frustration and looked at the left side of the laptop and saw a small piece of looseleaf paper that looked ripped from another piece of paper. It bore a single message: It wasn't your fault. More taunting! Whatever Madara might have meant by leaving Sasuke this note, the message didn't sink through.
"Sasuke, I think we should go out," Naruto said from the other side of the room. Sasuke reached out and picked up the small, ripped piece of looseleaf before turning to Naruto with an inquisitive look. "I mean, you've been moping for the last few weeks – for good reason – but finals are over, and I think we should celebrate. It's not like either of us has had much good happen to us lately."
"Well, Suigetsu does have that party tomorrow," Sasuke reminded his boyfriend, who suddenly looked confused.
"That's still happening?" Naruto asked. "I know he was planning on having a party after finals, but that was before everything with Hinata happened. Is he still having the party?"
Sasuke nodded. "I spoke to Suigetsu the other day. He said that the party is still on. He promised me that he's going to talk to Hinata and get a few things straightened out."
"Oh," Naruto said. "That's nice." Sasuke nodded, looking back down at the paper on his lap. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. He read the words over and over again, turning them around in his head. But if Madara's suicide wasn't his fault, then what caused him to do it? Had it really been planned before then? Or what if the note wasn't talking about the suicide?
He glared at the paper one more time, as if the glare would get the paper to start talking and tell Sasuke what Madara meant. But as he was about to throw the paper to the side, he was stopped by something. The light hit the paper in such a way that Sasuke could see something on the other side. He quickly flipped the paper over and saw more words, and a memory came back to him.
It was right before he'd passed out in the laundry room. He'd had that paper, and he looked at it. He must have forgotten what he'd seen, but it didn't matter anymore. He had another clue to what the Sharingan Project was.
The Sharignan Project – Dr. Hashirama Senju.
He didn't know who Dr. Hashirama Senju was, but it was definitely easier to Google a name than an ambiguous phrase. He turned around abruptly and signed into his computer.
"Come here," he said to Naruto, nodding his head towards the computer. Naruto stood up from his bed and crossed the room until he was standing over Sasuke's shoulder, one hand on the desk and the other on the back of Sasuke's chair.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked. Sasuke handed Naruto the note, and Naruto sported a confused expression. "Whose Hashirama Senju?" he asked.
"I have no clue," Sasuke said with some excitement as he opened up his browser. "But he has to exist somewhere. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter…There's no way we won't be able to find him. Maybe he knows Madara. Maybe he knows what the Sharingan Project is!" He quickly typed the name into Google as Naruto leaned down to look at the screen.
Sasuke's excitement rose as he clicked the first link Google came up with, and a picture of Hashirama Senju revealed itself.
"Who is he?" Naruto asked.
"He's a doctor at NYU's Langone Medical Center," Sasuke read off the page. "He's a neurologist, specializing in the spinal cord."
"So he lives in New York?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded as he scrolled down the page.
"It says that he graduated from John Hopkin's Medical School," Sasuke read with awe. "That's where Madara went to school before joining the family business. They graduated in the same year."
"So you think that Hashirama might know Madara?" Naruto asked.
"It can't be a coincidence, can it?" Sasuke said. He turned to look at Naruto, waiting for a response.
"I don't know, Sasuke," Naruto said. "He might know Madara, but he might not. What if Madara wanted us to meet him for another reason."
"It says he's connected to the Sharingan Project right here," Sasuke argued, pointed to the paper. Even Naruto couldn't argue that.
"Okay," Naruto said. "But how do you expect to ask him about the Sharingan Project if he lives all the way in New York. It's not exactly the next town over, you know?"
"Yeah," Sasuke muttered darkly. And here he was, finally getting a clue, and suddenly the entire thing was out of his reach. A dead end. He sighed and pushed back from the desk. "You're right. I should just stop looking into this and forget I ever saw what was in the damn safety-deposit box." He stood up and encircled Naruto in his arms. "I'm sorry I've been so distant lately."
"I understand," Naruto said, returning the hug and leaning his head against Sasuke's. "It's been hard, hasn't it? Have you spoken to Itachi or Kakashi about the video?" He felt Sasuke tense up beneath him. "That'll help, you know. You shouldn't keep things bottled up. That's what makes you drink."
"I know," Sasuke said, pulling away from his boyfriend. "But I can't think about it. I just…I can't." Naruto was about to respond when the sound of Britney Spears' "Till the World Ends" blasted through the room. Sasuke watched as Naruto picked up his phone and answered.
"Oh hey, Ino," he said into his phone. "What happened?" He paused. "No, I guess not." Another pause. "Well, I'm sort of in the middle of something right now."
"Go," Sasuke urged, nodding towards the phone. "I think I'm going to stop by the mansion anyway."
Naruto broke out into a wide smile and he spoke back into the receiver. "Never mind. I'll meet you there in about ten minutes, okay?" Another pause. "See you then." He hung up the phone and put it in his sweatshirt pocket. "I'm meeting her at the Student Union," he said. "Thank you for going to see Itachi. Just remember that he's probably in just as bad a shape as you are."
"I know," Sasuke said quietly. "I wonder if he told anyone."
"Ask him when you get there," Naruto said as he shrugged on a jacket and picked up his dorm room key. "I'll see you later."
Sasuke nodded as the blond left before he crossed to the computer, looking at the picture of Senju Hashirama. There was just something odd about the man. Maybe he was just imagining it, but he looked run down. It was obviously a recent picture, as all the staff pictures seemed to be updated earlier in the year.
Suddenly, a thought crept into Sasuke's head. He chewed on his nail – a habit he'd lost years ago – as he decided whether or not to go through with it. After a couple seconds of deliberation, he decided to go for it. He sat back down at his desk and began a new Google search. Flights to New York.
When Naruto returned to the dorm room, he was shocked to find Sasuke still there, waiting for him with a smile on his face. He couldn't decide whether to be confused or amused, so he settled on a combination between the two as he took off his jacket.
"What's with the smile?" Naruto asked.
"Please tell me you don't have any plans for over the break," Sasuke said with his smile growing. Naruto couldn't help but smile. Sasuke's smile was infectious, especially after being absent for so long.
"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to be here for Christmas in a week and a half," Naruto mused. "But other than that, I'm free. Why?"
"What if I told you that your amazingly smart, attractive, rich boyfriend was going to take you to the Big Apple for a couple of weeks?" Sasuke said, his smile stretching from ear to ear. But suddenly, Naruto's vanished.
"This is about that doctor, isn't it?" he asked sourly.
"Not completely," Sasuke said. "We both deserve a vacation. Yes, I would take a day to find Dr. Senju and find out what he knows, but there's so much to do in New York. I promise you that you'll be my main focus."
"I don't know if I can miss Christmas, though," Naruto said as he flopped down on his bed. "My dad and Ino will be pretty upset.
"I didn't know you were religious," Sasuke said with a tone of curiosity in his voice.
"It's not that I'm religious, but…you know…it's Christmas," Naruto said, as if that explained everything.
"Well, unless you're going to mass – which you can do in New York anyway; they have this big cathedral – you can exchange gifts when we get back," Sasuke said with a shrug.
"I dunno," Naruto said apprehensively. "It just wouldn't feel right."
"But you know what would feel right?" Sasuke inquired, kneeling in front of Naruto's bed, his face an inch from his boyfriend's.
"What?" Naruto breathed so soft that he was barely sure he said a word.
"New Years Eve at Times Square, where we can watch the ball drop," Sasuke whispered, inching his face closer to Naruto's so that they were almost kissing. "And you know who'll be performing?" he asked, smirking at his soon-to-be-victory. "Coldplay," he whispered. Naruto's eyes shot open before he closed them, kissing Sasuke so hard that he fell off the bed on top of the other.
Sasuke smirked into the kiss as he returned it with fervor, snaking a hand up his shrit and feeling his hard muscles. Naruto removed his mouth from Sasuke's, moving down his neck to the hallow of his throat. He bit the pulse and began to suck on it as Sasuke tweaked his nipples.
"Ah…if I knew Coldplay got you so hot…I'd have…suggested this a while…ago," Sasuke breathed as Naruto pulled back.
"Shut up," he said, pulling off his shirt and lowering himself onto his boyfriend again, covering his lips with his own. Sasuke pulled back with another smirk.
"If I knew taking you across the country would get such a reaction out of you, I'd have done it a month ago," he said, earning himself an earlobe bite from his boyfriend.
This was how it should be.
After another few seconds of passionate kissing, Naruto pulled up again, pulling Sasuke's shirt off and leaving them both shirtless. He pressed his flushed skin against his boyfriend, and he silenced the upcoming smart ass remark by kissing him before the words could leave his mouth.
Sasuke must have gotten pretty fed up with being on bottom because it was only a couple more minutes before he flipped them over, straddling Naruto.
"How far are we going with this?" Sasuke asked in a breathy voice that went straight to Naruto's groin.
"You'll see," Naruto said, the coy smirk on his face this time. He leaned up and licked a circle around Sasuke's navel before plunging his tongue inside. Sasuke closed his eyes, barely containing a moan as Naruto tackled him, reversing their positions again.
"I want to know what Ino said that made you so horny," Sasuke breathed out as Naruto bit his left nipple. He grazed a trail down Sasuke's chest and stomach with his teeth until he ended up at the waistband of his jeans.
"You'll never know," Naruto teased as he unbuttoned Sasuke's jeans. Sasuke's eyes widened, surprised that it seemed he actually would be getting off during this session of theirs. His throat went dry, seeing Naruto down between his legs. Naruto licked his lips and Sasuke felt himself twitch against his own constricting pants. Naruto's smirk widened as he slowly – oh god, why was he taking so long – unzipped his pants and pulled them over Sasuke's lifted hips. He could see Sasuke's cock sticking out of the small hole in the front of his boxers, throbbing in need.
Next thing he knew, a mouth was wrapped around his member and he bucked his hips up until he was balls deep in Naruto's mouth. Naruto hummed around it and then pulled back to pull the boxers over the wet cock and down Sasuke's legs. Sasuke shrugged out of his pants and boxers, leaving him completely naked as Naruto resumed his position on Sasuke's cock.
Sasuke had never felt this before. The only time he even felt close was when Naruto had given him a blow job that one time when he thought he was a girl. But Sasuke was so conflicted back then that he couldn't just enjoy it. But now, he watched as the man he loved pleasured him. His eyes were half-lidded when they met Naruto's when the blond looked up while bobbing on his cock. The eyes sparkled with lust, and it took all of Sasuke's self control to not cum right then and there.
It was three seconds later when Naruto used his hand to tickle Sasuke's balls that Sasuke came. And true to Sasuke's fantasies, Naruto swallowed every drop.
"That was quick," Naruto said with a teasing smirk as he leaned in to kiss Sasuke again. Sasuke scowled into the kiss and pushed Naruto back, straddling his boyfriend once more. He began to unbuckle Naruto's belt and pulled it through the belt loops in one succinct move. Wasting no time, he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, and in just a couple of seconds, Naruto was as stark naked as Sasuke was.
"Let's see who's quick after this," Sasuke said, taking Naruto's entire length in his mouth. Naruto's heart jumped out of his chest as he felt Sasuke's nose in his pubes. He closed his eyes tight as Sasuke hummed around his cock, knowing that his boyfriend just wanted to prove a point to him.
Well, it worked. Naruto could tell he was already on the edge, and he was just a couple of seconds away from cumming when Sasuke pulled off his cock. He moved to sit on Naruto's chest and pinned the blonde's hands above his head.
"On second thought, maybe I won't let you cum," Sasuke said with a devilish smirk. Naruto's expression quickly turned sour as he waited for Sasuke to continue, but he wouldn't. He tried to move his arms, but Sasuke kept them pinned down, a victorious look upon his face.
"Sasuke," Naruto growled. But he couldn't continue, because Sasuke captured his lips in a ravenous kiss. Naruto let out his frustration, battling Sasuke for control of the kiss, neither of them relenting. Sasuke smirked as he grabbed Naruto's sweatshirt and swiftly tied Naruto's hands together using one arm of the sweatshirt and tied it to the bed post with the other arm. Naruto growled as Sasuke finished tying it, but Sasuke just smirked even wider.
"Now I'm going to have my fun," he said, trailing his finger down Naruto's chest. He stood up and sat back down between Naruto's legs, leaning over Naruto's cock and breathing over it. Naruto shivered at the rush of warm air that he felt, and he involuntarily bucked his hips up. "Not yet," Sasuke said as he lightly dragged his nails up Naruto's inner thigh until they rested right next to the tan cock. "I need to hear you beg."
Naruto shook his head, his eyes squeezed shut, when Sasuke had a deliciously evil thought go through his mind. He sat back on Naruto's stomach, this time much further down. In fact, Naruto's cock was almost rubbing against Sasuke's crack. When he pushed back, Naruto's eyes opened wide as he saw Sasuke rubbing his cock against his hole.
"You know you want it, Naruto," Sasuke purred, circling Naruto's nipple with his finger. "You just have to say the words."
"Please, Sasuke!" Naruto whined almost before the raven had finished speaking. Sasuke's smirk widened.
"Please what?" Sasuke asked, feigning ignorance.
"Please, finish what you started!" Naruto begged. "I need it."
He didn't need another word to be uttered before he turned around and enveloped Naruto's cock with his mouth, taking it until he felt his boyfriend's balls against his nose. It was an odd position, but it didn't matter, because Naruto practically exploded as soon as he felt the wet warmth. Sasuke tried in vain to swallow it all, but Naruto seemed to not stop, and some of it dribbled down Sasuke's chin as he sat up to look back at Naruto.
"You are…so hot," Naruto breathed in his post-orgasmic high. "And such a bastard."
"I am," Sasuke said with a smile. He stood up and pulled the blanket on his bed open. Somehow, in their wrestling match/foreplay, they ended up from Naruto's bed to Sasuke's. He held his hand out to Naruto, who accepted the help in getting up. "Let's get to bed."
"Sasuke, it's only 5:30," Naruto said, still catching his breath.
"Yeah, but we want to be well rested for the party tomorrow, don't we?" Sasuke asked. "Besides, there's no way you're depriving me of spooning right now."
"Fine," Naruto said as he settled into Sasuke's bed. "But after what you just put me through, I get to be big spoon."
"Hn," Sasuke said as he followed the blond. "You deserved it after having the audacity to question my stamina."
"What stamina?" Naruto said with a smirk, earning a glare from Sasuke.
"Shut up," the Uchiha muttered as he turned around in the bed. Naruto smirked, but he didn't press further.
Suigetsu was just about as nervous as he could be. He still wasn't sure whether or not this was a good idea. On the one hand, about half of the people invited to his house wanted to castrate him. On the other hand, he did want to make things right with Hinata, and maybe this could be the first step. If she showed up of course.
He had made sure that his mansion was stocked with a lot of food, hoping that if people stuffed their mouths enough then there would be less gossip. But that would probably be futile anyway. He paced up and down the kitchen, waiting for the guests to arrive. It was still only 7:30, and the party wouldn't begin for another half hour, but he was restless.
"Suigetsu," came a voice from the top of the stairs. The blue-ish gray haired teen looked behind him to see that his brother had entered the room. Kisame was accompanied by Deidara and Hidan, the latter wasting no time in opening a bag of pretzels. "We need to talk. Can you come with me to my room?"
Suigetsu didn't let his puzzlement show as he followed his brother down the hallway to the master bedroom of the mansion. As soon as they entered, Kisame looked around, making sure that neither Deidara nor Hidan followed them, before closing the door.
"What's going on?"Suigetsu asked suspiciously. "What don't you want them to hear?"
"I need you to promise me you won't get mad," Kisame began.
"What don't you want me to get mad at?" Suigetsu asked, his eyes narrowed at the implication that Kisame did something extremely bad.
"Well, you know how things have been tight around here since Mom and Dad died, and we've been using the bare minimum of money so that we could keep up payments on the house and go to school?" Kisame asked. Suigetsu nodded, waiting to hear what sounded like a big confession. "Well, I got tired of it, so I decided to do something about it."
"What did you do?" Suigetsu asked.
"Well, I decided to take the money that we put aside for college and invest it in the stock market," Kisame admitted.
Suigetu's eyes widened, pretty sure he knew where this was going. "You didn't," he said.
"I was doing good at first," Kisame quickly said. "I made a couple of good investments. Barnes and Nobel went up after they released their Kindle, and Samsung, which also had a nice spike in prices."
"I'm waiting for a 'but'," Suigetsu said.
"I got some advice from my broker," Kisame told me. "He told me about a fund that I could buy hundreds of stock for dirt cheap, and it was going to return huge profits. He said it was just days away from signing with Viacom or Warner Brothers…I forget which one."
"You were going to trade on insider information?" Suigetsu asked angrily. "I'm not even a business major and I know that's illegal!"
"The deal fell through," Kisame said softly. "I invested almost all of it in there."
"How much do we have left?" Suigetsu asked, trying not to be extremely angry.
"Very little," Kisame admitted, not looking at Suigetsu. "I did the numbers, and we can still get by. We'd have to drop out of school for a little while, and we'd have to sell this house and move to an apartment in the city, but we can get by. We'll need jobs of course, but –"
"How could you let this happen!" Suigetsu exclaimed loudly and angrily. "Mom and Dad trusted you to take care of me and the money! Even I'm not so irresponsible as to let us lose thousands of dollars on the stock market! Especially in this economy!"
"You don't have to tell me that!" Kisame exclaimed. "Don't you think I know that?"
"How long has this been going on?" Suigetsu asked, causing Kisame to avert his eyes again. "How long?" he demanded, a little more loudly this time.
"It's been a few months," Kisame admitted, still looking at the floor, away from Suigetsu's eyes.
"A few months!" Suigetsu repeated angrily. "How long were you going to keep this from me?"
"Look, I've consulted a real estate agent who valued this house at $1.2 million," Kisame continued, ignoring Suigetsu's question. "I've found a nice two-bedroom apartment with a good amount of room and it's near the center of the city. And we have someone willing to buy the house for more than market value."
"So you just wanted to tell me that you're selling the house and I'm not going back to school next semester," Suigetsu angrily accused. "You're such an asshole!"
"I know," Kisame said. "But I'm going to put aside money for our school, and if we can just go one semester working instead of studying, I think we'll be able to pull together enough money to finish at least our undergraduate degrees."
Suigetsu couldn't speak. He was so fucking angry he couldn't stand it. Wordlessly, he turned and walked right out of the bedroom, passing Deidara, Hidan and Itachi in the hallway. He looked at the time and saw that the guests were going to start arriving any minute now, and noticed four people already there: Kiba, Gaara, Sasuke and Naruto.
"Hey guys," Suigetsu said, plastering a grin on his face and trying to ignore his anger. "Glad you could make it."
"Well, Gaara said 'party', and that was that," Kiba said with a shrug as he made his way over to the chips.
"Suigetsu," Sasuke said, nodding his head towards the door. As Naruto and Gaara went to join Kiba at the food, Sasuke pulled Suigetsu aside. "What are you going to do about Hinata?"
"We need to talk," Suigetsu said quietly. "But whatever happens, it's between her and I."
"I swear, if you make things harder on her –," Sasuke began.
"I won't," Suigetsu assured him. Sasuke gave him a look, measuring his sincerity, before nodding and following Suigetsu. The two walked out the door in time to see Sakura arrive with Ino. After giving a quick greeting, Suigetsu and Sasuke walked around the front of the house towards the side, where they were able to climb up to a small alcove.
"What's going on?" Sasuke asked when they finally sat down. Suigetsu only brought people up here when they needed to have a serious conversation that couldn't be overheard. In response to Sasuke's question, Suigetsu threw his head back in aggravation.
"It's not bad enough that I might have a child to support," Suigetsu began. "I just found out that my brother gambled away our entire fortune on some shitty insider information about some fucking stock." Sasuke was silent. He didn't really know what to say. After all, this wasn't a situation he was confronted with every day.
"When did you find out?" Sasuke asked.
"Just now," Suigetsu said, resting his head on the wall behind him. "I have no idea what I'm going to do now. We're going to sell the mansion, I guess, but most of that money'll go towards an apartment and paying off the debt he got us into. And then with child support added on there…" he trailed off. "How could this happen?"
Sasuke stayed silent, so Suigetsu continued. "I mean, I don't want to sound like a spoiled brat, but this fucking sucks! My entire life, there was never a single problem with money. I don't know how to handle this. How do I live without it?" He paused, waiting for Sasuke to answer, but he guessed that Sasuke was still being quiet. "I mean, I've never had to budget. I've never had to think about needing anything that I couldn't afford."
"I could help you out," Sasuke said quietly in a tone that suggested he was bored with the conversation. "Between my parents and my uncle, I've inherited more money than I know what to do with. I'll never need all the money I have. Hell, I'll probably never need half of it."
"I couldn't just take money from you," Suigetsu said with a groan. "That's not what I brought you here for. I just needed to talk to someone about this. You're my friend…one of the few I really have."
"Which is why you should accept my offer," Sasuke said. "I'd just give you enough to keep the house, or something. You can just pay me back when you have money again."
"But I won't have money again," Suigetsu said. "I can't even think about this right now. This is all just happening so fast."
"If you don't want to talk about it, then why did you bring me here?" Sasuke asked.
"I don't know," Suigetsu admitted. "I'm freaking out."
"Let's go back to the party," Sasuke said, standing up and holding out a hand to help Suigetsu up. "It's time to celebrate. Our first semester's over, it's winter break. We have time to worry about money after tonight."
Suigetsu nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I should just enjoy tonight and worry later."
"That's the spirit," Sasuke said with a smirk as the two began to walk back towards the front of the house.
"You know, it's a shame you never got over Naruto," Suigetsu mused. "You really would make a pretty good boyfriend." Sasuke decided to not even warrant that a response.
When they re-entered the party, they saw everyone was there – including, somewhat surprisingly, Neji and Hinata. Neji caught Sasuke's eye and began to approach. Sensing this, Suigetsu mumbled something about more fruit punch and scattered off.
"I didn't expect you to show up," Sasuke said with a shrug as he accepted a cup of the punch from Neji.
"I don't really want to be here, to be honest," Neji said. "But Sakura threatened me if I didn't come, and it's really too much of a bother to argue with her. Besides," he said after a moment, "making Suigetsu uncomfortable by being here is worth it."
Sasuke rolled his eyes at Neji's comment, but took a drink from the punch anyway. He was grateful that Suigetsu hadn't put any alcohol in the punch. It was hell to find a dry college party.
"How's Hinata handling…things?" Sasuke asked tentatively.
"She's as fine as she can be," Neji said with a shrug. "There's only so great she can be while her father continues to be a stubborn ass to her."
"He'll come around," Sasuke said. "I can't imagine a parent hating their child over something so trivial." Suddenly, Sasuke was reminded of his own parents and the video tape he'd seen. He looked over at Hinata. Pregnant. It was almost enough to make him sick.
"I don't know about the Uchiha, but the Hyuga value honor above all else," Neji said bitterly. "I can't help but feel responsible for this entire ordeal."
"It would have come out eventually," Sasuke said. "Hinata told me she plans on keeping the baby." Neji nodded.
"I just don't see how she could raise a child by herself and still go to school," Neji said, sounding very concerned. "And then there's Suigetsu," he said, spitting the name out like it was poisonous, "who –"
"Hold on," Sasuke interrupted. "Suigetsu's going through a lot too. I think in the end, he'll do the right thing by Hinata."
"He better," Neji said.
Just over an hour later, Gaara was pretty much done with the festivities. He was never really a big partier, believe it or not. Regardless, Kiba was still having a good time, so he wouldn't leave just yet. As if struck by the thought, he began looking for his boyfriend, only to not see him.
"He's out back spiking his punch," Sakura said matter-of-factly as she sat down next to Gaara. "I believe his exact words were 'Just because Sasuke's a lush doesn't mean I can't have fun'." Gaara snorted, despite the fact that he expressly asked Kiba to not bring booze. As if on cue, Kiba entered the room a little tipsy, and began dancing with a lamp. "Oh, that was about an hour ago. He's probably ten sheets to the wind by now."
"I can tell," Gaara drawled.
"You sure lucked out, huh?" Sakura teased.
"Shut up," Gaara said with a roll of his eyes.
"No, I'm serious," Sakura said, suddenly sounding less carefree. "You really do need someone to pull the stick out of your ass. So does Sasuke. You two never have any fun. Look at Kiba." Gaara did just that, and immediately regretted it when he felt a pang of irrational jealousy as Kiba pecked a kiss on the lampshade and stroked the back of the shade. Wait a sec…he's jealous…of a lamp?
"He really is something," Sakura continued. "He's just what you need. Silly, carefree, and probably a huge romantic."
"Yeah, he is," Gaara said, recalling their date when Kiba made mac n' cheese in his backyard for the two of them.
"Kiba, where are you taking me?" Gaara asked as they continued their drive to wherever Kiba was taking him.
"It's a surprise," Kiba said with a smile as the car started to accelerate some more. It only took a few minutes to get to their destination, which was a pretty big house. The lights were out, and there were no cars in the driveway.
"Where are we?" Gaara asked as Kiba opened his car door for him. As he stepped out, Kiba made a large sweeping motion with his arm and smiled broadly.
"Welcome to Chez Inuzuka," Kiba said with a smile on his face. "My mom and sister are out seeing the new Twilight movie, so I decided to have our date here." Kiba led Gaara, instead of to the front door, to the gate that led to their back yard. Gaara shrugged and followed him into the back yard, and was surprised at what he saw.
On the open lawn, there was a table for two set up. It had what was obviously a nice tablecloth, with a single candle in the middle. There were two covered trays in front of each of the chairs. Gaara couldn't help but smile at the romantic gesture. And it was a perfect day to eat outside. It had ceased to be warm like the summer, but had yet to become frigid.
Gaara couldn't help but smile at the memory.
"Hello?" Sakura called out, snapping Gaara from his thoughts. She waved her hands in front of his face. "Earth to Gaara."
"I'm here," he said, lowering her hands for her.
"You were just spacing out," she said amusedly. "I've never seen you space out."
"I was just thinking of our last date," Gaara said with a small smile. "It was back in mid-November – we've been so busy lately, I can't believe we haven't been out on a date in over a month! – and Kiba and I had just had a little bit of a fight."
"Over what?" Sakura asked. Gaara thought back and remembered exactly what. They had found out that Naruto and Sasuke were together, and Kiba started to get all jealous and bitchy about it. And then Gaara was pissed off at him, so he didn't answer his phone calls, and…well, it was just a disaster all around.
"Nothing big," Gaara replied, waving his hand dismissively. "But he decided to make it up to me by bringing me to his house. He had this whole set up out back – a table-for-two with a candle in the middle and a vase of flowers, some of the best Easy Mac I've ever had, and a dog who kept trying to jump on my lap."
"Aww," Sakura cooed. "That's so cute! I wish I could find someone so romantic." Suddenly, her mood darkened, and Gaara heard her mutter "Of course, all the good ones are gay."
"If he was really such a romantic, he wouldn't be dancing with an inanimate object," Gaara said with a smirk, indicating his boyfriend. It seemed like if that lamp was a person, then it'd already be reaching second base with his boyfriend by now. "I guess that's my cue to take him home," Gaara said, standing up. "I'll see ya around."
Finally, about two hours into the party, Naruto managed to find Sasuke again. If he knew when he got there that he'd lose Sasuke for the remainder of the party, he would never have let go of him. It seems Sasuke caught sight of Naruto as well, because he jerked his head in the direction of the staircase. Naruto nodded as Sasuke ascended, making his way over as well.
When he got to the top of the staircase, Naruto looked around for Sasuke, but couldn't see him. Figuring there were only two directions he could have gone, Naruto turned down the left side, looking through each open doorway to see if Sasuke was in one of the rooms.
Suddenly, he was jerked back into a dark room, and pressed against the wall. His first instinct was panic, which went away when he heard his kidnapper's voice.
"You haven't given me a kiss all night," Sasuke said with a smirk as his arms encircled Naruto. "And look at where we are," he said titling his head up. Naruto followed his head up to see a small plant hanging in the doorway.
"Mistletoe," Naruto breathed. "I guess it's time to give you that kiss, then, huh?" he asked with a smirk. Without another word, he felt Sasuke's mouth cover his, and Naruto immediately opened up, giving Sasuke access to his inner cavern.
As Sasuke entered Naruto's mouth with his tongue, Naruto placed his hands on Sasuke's sides, rubbing up and down. They continued to kiss, and Naruto pushed Sasuke's shirt up slightly to allow himself to touch his boyfriend's stomach. Sasuke had similar thoughts, placing his hands on his boyfriend's butt and pressing Naruto into him. Their growing arousals met through their jeans, and Sasuke almost scoffed. Hadn't they just gotten off on each other hours ago.
Regardless, they probably would have gotten each other off again if they hadn't heard a shocked gasp from the hallway. They immediately jumped apart, Sasuke still in the doorway, but Naruto inside the dark room.
"I-I'm sorry Sasuke," Hinata said. "I…didn't know you were here."
"It's okay," Sasuke said, somewhat relieved that she hadn't seen that it was Naruto he was kissing. Thank heavens for dark rooms.
"I didn't know you were dating anyone," she said. "Congratulations." She peaked inside, presumably to see who it was Sasuke was just sucking face with, when her face froze at the sight of bright, blue eyes. "N-Naruto?" she choked.
"Hinata," Sasuke began, but he was interrupted before he could explain.
"There you are, Hinata!" came Neji's voice from down the hall. Sasuke briefly turned to look at Naruto, and they exchanged an "Oh, fuck" glance as Neji made his way to the doorway. "I've been looking all over for you." He looked over at Sasuke with a confused face. "What's with you?"
It was then that Sasuke noticed that in the passion of their make-out session, Naruto had unbuttoned the bottom three buttons of Sasuke's shirt, leaving his mid-riff exposed. He was pretty sure that the collar looked off and he carried that 'I just got the fuck kissed out of me' look.
"Hinata, I can explain," Sasuke said, hoping to curtail this before it exploded.
"What's going on?" Neji asked confusedly. He looked past Sasuke and saw what looked like a familiar blonde haircut. "Naruto?" He looked from Naruto to Sasuke. "Wh–" Sasuke closed his eyes, not wanting to see the realization cross Neji's face. "No!" Sasuke opened his eyes again and nodded.
"H-How long?" Hinata asked quietly, and suddenly, Sasuke felt guilt stab at him once more. He didn't want to answer. All he wanted to do was let the world swallow him up. Please, if there is any merciful god, let the world swallow him up.
It was Naruto who answered. "Halloween."
Hinata did exactly what Sasuke wanted to do and ran away. Lucky her, she was able to momentarily escape. Sasuke was stuck here looking at Neji's enraged face. He never saw the veins on Neji's eyes pop exactly like they did now. It was kind of intimidating.
"I can't fucking believe you," Neji yelled. "I'm trying not to be mad. I'm really trying. But I can't help it. How dare you fuck her boyfriend and then still call yourself her friend. How could you look her in the eye knowing that you broke her heart!"
"It's not like that," Sasuke said. "You know that I've felt like this about Naruto for –"
"And you!" Neji shouted at Naruto, ignoring Sasuke's words. "I asked you if you really had feelings for Hinata. I specifically asked you if you weren't interested in Sasuke, and you told me yes!"
"I didn't mean to hurt her," Naruto pleaded, stepping out into the light.
"You two are the reason that she slept with Suigetsu in the first place," Neji said. "As far as I'm concerned, you two are just as much at fault for this as Suigetsu is. I hope you're happy." He turned to walk away, but Sasuke chased him.
"Neji, wait," he said, grabbing Neji's wrist. But Neji just pulled himself free.
"I can't even look at you," he said, shaking his head. "You're nothing but a backstabber."
It was hard. No, it was really hard. To hear those words come out of Neji's mouth. And he knew in a way it was true. I mean, it wasn't all his fault. He did have feelings for Naruto first, and it's not like he pushed Hinata into bed with Suigetsu, but there was still so much guilt. He knew from the very moment that Naruto suggested that they keep their relationship secret that something like this would happen, but he was just thoroughly surprised it happened now.
Sasuke and Naruto left the party, but Sasuke knew that people already knew. Word spread fast. Sakura wanted to talk to him. So did Suigetsu. But really, he couldn't handle this anymore. So much was going on right now, and he couldn't deal with this drama. Of all the shit he has to deal with, he doesn't need the drama on top of that.
That was why, instead of going back to their dorm, they drove with the bags they'd packed earlier and headed to the airport. There, they would exchange their tickets to New York for tomorrow evening and get some on the next flight out. That's what they needed – a vacation.
Author's Note: So Neji finally knows, and the long-awaited revelation is over. And like always, Sasuke is running away. This time to New York, where maybe he'll find out about the Sharingan Project.
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