Yay! I'm updating! Well, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday, and as a nice treat for Black Friday, here's the next chapter of Storms! I know I had said I was going to update regularly again, but while I seem to no longer have much of a life, my beta now does, so yeah. But! The great and amazing -Nightly Halo- already finished the next few chapters! So, for the next three weeks, at least, I'll be able to update every Friday! Yay!
Alright, enough rambling, here we go!
Disclaimer: I do not own, I have enough trouble handling what I do
Warnings: angst (I seem to have a thing with missing Bastards recently...), some cursing, nakedness
beta'd by -Nightly Halo-. Real life really sucks sometimes.
It was quiet when he woke up.
Sunlight was streaming through the mostly closed blinds over the window into an otherwise dark room, the door slightly ajar. No sounds of the TV coming through the crack of the doorway, no sounds of food cooking, no movement of another person. No trace of even the maid.
It was a little surprising actually. He had read of such things, in those romance books or manga his girlfriend had forced on him, about those one-night stand situations of the guy leaving the girl alone the next morning. Usually that was accompanied by a whole lot of "did it mean something" drama. Not that he actually expected-
Though, actually, this whole thing was unexpected. He was, after all, playing the girl part in this…
He cringed at the thought. Then he tried to sit up and cringed again, this time from the pain he now felt lacing up his lower back. His body shuddered at the thought of getting up and he lay back down, turning his head to face the rays of sunlight streaming in, filtered by the blinds and falling onto the hardwood floor. His eyes flickered to the left, further into the room, and Naruto's blond head turned toward the open door of the bathroom.
He had to go.
Now that the thought struck, it wouldn't go away. He scowled at no one in particular and grit his teeth as he slowly forced himself to sit up. The sharp pain returned. He slowed his movements to a stop and waited till the tension subsided and sat up further, holding himself up with his arms on the soft mattress. Now, after what they had done, he was starting to second guess it. He didn't expect he'd be in this much pain afterwards.
And now he was sitting up under the sheets, staring at the sunlight on the hardwood floor, his mind going back to that previous train of thought before he attempted to actually get out of the bed.
Because really, did it matter if it meant anything? It wasn't supposed to, after all. He was… Well, a play toy. That's what he had agreed to, hadn't he? He was a convenient body to lie with, and in return for his complete surrender, he got… Well, this whole place, this new lifestyle. Comfort, style, money. He could now have everything he had ever wanted, no consequences.
Well, beyond the pain in his backside.
But it had felt good. Really good, in fact. Granted, it hurt like hell at first, but then… It wasn't so bad. If that's all he had to do to get anything and everything he wanted, to be comfortable and happy in life, then it really wasn't so bad.
Of course, it was all superficial. There was nothing in the world that could give him what he really wanted… His father back. His life.
He licked his lips and lifted the blanket up, revealing his still naked body. He had been amazed how quickly he fell asleep afterwards, and it had really been a sound sleep. Since his father's death, he hadn't been able to sleep so peacefully. If it wasn't for the fear of someone sneaking up on him, it was from the nightmares.
The sunlight was starting to annoy him now. He glanced over to the inviting door of the bathroom, then the floor, not moving. But he really, really had to go. He glanced back up to the bathroom door, pondering his next move. Get up and face the pain? Or stay in bed and just let his bladder burst. He could always just wet the bed, but that was gross. Well, he'd get back at that Uchiha jerk who wasn't even here when he woke up. But then again, it was likely the maid who would be forced to change the sheets.
She didn't deserve that, maid or not.
No more fighting it. He really, really had to go. He sighed and gently, carefully- his hands still holding him up against the mattress- lifted himself onto unsteady feet until he could stand properly, attempting to plant his feet on the cold, hardwood floor.
He sighed and nearly fainted at the pain when he tried to stand, crumpling to the cold floor, his bare bottom now freezing. He'd have to yell at the bastard to leave the heater on. After all, there was obviously enough money, why worry about the electricity bill?
Slowly he tried to stand up again, his hands nearly tearing a hole in the sheets where he clutched them like his life depended on it. He tried to regain his balance and took a deep breath before chancing a step.
That wasn't so bad, he decided. So he took another step. And another. And he kept going, feet freezing against the floor, bare butt freezing from the lingering cold air, and his legs protesting with every new step. He clenched his teeth tighter from the pain as he progressed.
He wished the bastard who did this to him was still home. But no, the jerk had left. Hadn't even woken him up. He was so gonna pay for that later.
And finally he was at the doorway to the bathroom and sweet relief. He pondered the thought of a bath as he relieved himself, thoughts of the feel of steamy hot water against his skin sounding incredibly enticing. He needed a shower, and he figured the hot water would help wash away some of the pain. He hoped there were some nice, strong drugs somewhere to help along too. Damn that bastard. He couldn't leave some pain killers for him?
And where was that asshole anyways?
At last he finished up and reached over as quickly as he could and turned on the water to the hottest setting.
Letting the tub fill, he shuffled along, very slowly, to the closet, pulling out some random clothes and throwing them out the door to (hopefully) land on the bed. Shuffling his way back, he was pleased to see the tub was nearly full and scorching to the touch. Turning the heat down a little- after all, he didn't want to burn himself- he carefully began to wash himself. He scrubbed, feeling a little embarrassed as he retraced the paths the jerk had touched the previous night, trying not to think about it. Trying not to remember it so vividly, even while his treacherous body began to stir at the memory.
Then he had to go lower. His face warmed as he washed between his legs, trying not to look down or remember what exactly had happened down there.
Finished washing, he took a deep breath and began to rinse himself off, reaching over to turn off the hot water. He took a step closer to the now full tub, and slowly, painfully, got in. When he was finally sitting comfortably in the hot water, he sighed deeply.
It was really starting, his new life. There were so many things he would now need to adjust to. Maybe tomorrow, when he wasn't in so much pain, he'd go out into the area, see exactly what part of Tokyo he'd ended up in, maybe search out a book store and buy some good books. Unfortunately, he had lost all of his autographed books (those his father had given him, those he'd gotten at publisher parties, and those he got through his father's connections) to the fire and to those bastard relatives he hadn't known existed until recently. So he'd need to re-buy the books, but without the priceless (or probably insanely valuable) autographs. Plus, all his classics he'd also have to re-buy. And probably a new bookshelf or two to fit them all…
He leaned his head back as he soaked, taking in the warmth soothing his new aches, and thought over all the books he'd buy. It really actually kind of exciting, being able to go into a bookstore and grab whatever, no worries about spending limits, and taking them all to the cashier with a grin, saying "I want all of these!"
A smile graced his face at the thought. Even without the autographs, it'd be fun. Of course, it really sucked about those books his father had written. Naruto always got the first copy, signed by his father, that dumb grin on his face as he handed it over.
Naruto sighed at the vision of it in his head, his eyes watering.
Then he heard the knock.
With a swish of the water he bolted up from his relaxed position, a crack of pain lacing up his back, as the maid's voice spoke through the closed door.
"Naruto-sama, I brought over some curry, it's on the stove. It's still warm, so help yourself. I'll be back later with your dinner."
"Ah, yeah, thanks Mariko-san," Naruto mumbled back, sloshing the water around nervously. He was really glad she hadn't gone in, or that she hadn't arrived any earlier, when he was walking through the room butt naked.
He had almost forgotten about her as he struggled with the pain. Another benefit of the situation, he'd never have to clean again.
He had always hated scrubbing the tub clean after Kakashi had taken to it with porn in hand. Seriously, yuck.
He sighed again and leaned back once more. He wondered briefly about them, Kakashi and Jiraiya. They were probably insane with worry, like Tsunade had mentioned. But maybe, after he gave himself a little time to adjust, he would call them and tell them where he was, that he was okay.
The thought of calling reminded him of his new phone, and he decided he was pruned enough and began his attempt to get out, only to realize he had forgotten to grab a towel. Great, more walking butt naked, now with the addition of wet, through the freezing apartment. He let out an exasperated sigh and stood, feeling a little better and not quite so weak, stepping carefully out of the tub onto the cold floor. As quickly as possible he made his way to the cabinets where he vaguely remembered the towels were located and pulled one out, rubbing himself dry before peeking outside the bathroom, making sure the maid wasn't in the room.
When all was judged clear, he made his way out, creaking and freezing, to the drawers filled with his new underwear and quickly pulled one on. The clothes, as expected, had not made it onto the bed, and were lying mockingly on the floor. With a grunt of annoyance, he bent over and grabbed the clothes, grinding his teeth at the pain. Quickly he dressed and finally made his way back in to the rest of the apartment.
He gave a silent thanks to Mariko-san for turning on the heater. It was really starting to get cold…
He was still unsteady on his feet, but the pain had mostly subsided. On his way out of the bedroom he glanced at the clock on the dresser, noting the time of twelve past one and the growl of his stomach, and made his slow way into the living room and kitchen.
The whole apartment was lit brightly, sunlight entering through all the windows and Naruto felt his spirits lift. This place was his now. What he and Sasuke had done the night before made it definite. This place and everything in it was his.
And now that he could really look at it, he realized what an amazing place it really was. Large and spacious, elegantly decorated, not too cluttered, and peaceful. Livable. Comfortable. While it wasn't quite like the house he had lived in with his father and Kakashi, it was still… home-like.
Feeling a little better about things, he made his way to the kitchen and searched the cabinets for some pain-killers, then scarfed down the warm curry and rice, gulped down some water, and made his way to the couch, where he decided he wasn't moving from for the rest of the day.
His last decision for the day before he turned on the TV and set his brain to "off" was, That bastard better not even think of doing that again anytime soon… Jerk.
Updated 3.27.18