Part XXXVII
Sasuke woke up late in the afternoon to find himself with his arms wrapped around Kiba and their legs entwined together. Akamaru was laying on the opposite side of the Raven and had pushed him and Kiba over during the night into about one third of the space of the bed and he was jammed up against Sasuke's back.
"Fuck, Akamaru," he said as he slowly sat up. "My back hurts."
He climbed out of bed and stretched and cracked his back.
"That feels a little better," he said as Akamaru sat up, looking at him. "Huh, guess I better take you out…"
He pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants after taking them out of his dresser and then put on a black, fitted athletic shirt and took Akamaru outside and walked him down to the park, taking him around the park for while before returning to the apartment.
He found Kiba to still be asleep, so he left Akamaru with him and went back outside, to a specialty food grocer that was located in one of the buildings on the same block. He wandered around the grocery store, picking up a red onion, some shrimp, tortillas, Monterrey jack cheese, and avocados, jalapeños, limes, and a tomato to make guacamole. After picking out all of the items he needed, he then paid for his purchases and went out onto the street once again and back up to his brother's apartment, kicking off his black sneakers in the entrance.
In the kitchen, he took out a cutting board and a knife to begin slicing up the red onion and put it into a glass bowl with cider vinegar and a little sugar so that it would pickle. After he put the bowl in the refrigerator, he went about making the guacamole. He looked up to find Akamaru had wandered in and was staring at him and wagging his tail.
"Hn," he said glancing down at the floor. "Looks like you need some water."
He refilled the dog's dish with fresh water and for good measure poured out some of his food from the container Kiba had brought with him. Akamaru happily began crunching the food.
He went back to finishing the guacamole and once it was done, put it into a bowl, and put that into the refrigerator also. Then he began shredding the cheese on a box grater. It was now nearing 5:00 when Kiba wandered into the kitchen yawning and scratching his head.
"What's going on in here?" he asked.
"I hope you like shrimp," the Raven answered. "I'm making shrimp tacos for dinner."
"MMMMmmmm, that sounds delicious."
"Yeah, I figured you have cooked for me so many time that the least I could do is get off my ass and make something for you at least once while you're here."
"Don't say it like that! I enjoy cooking for my friends."
"So do I, but I don't really get the chance to very often. Not that I'm out of practice or anything. I usually end up cooking for me and my brother once a week or so, if he actually comes home from work at a decent hour that is."
Kiba laughed as, in his mind, he pictured Sasuke running around the kitchen in a bathrobe and curlers in his hair as if he were some exasperated housewife, frantically making dinner, and then getting pissed off when Itachi worked all night.
"What's so funny?" the Raven asked, smiling.
"You probably don't want to know," Kiba said, still giggling. He then related to Sasuke what he had just thought of in his mind.
"Dude, that's just bizarre," he said. "I don't wear curlers and I don't even own a robe, so you couldn't be more off on that one."
Kiba laughed again at the thought, prompting Sasuke to lean down and say "This guy's cracked, Akamaru. How do you put up with this all the time? I hope he doesn't try putting your fur in curlers or some shit."
This sent Kiba into another gale of hysterics and Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"You're kind of loopy," he said. "I think you slept way too long."
"I do feel a little off," Kiba replied without thinking. "And I have been out of medicine for a couple weeks…"
"Medicine?" Sasuke asked, looking up from the shrimp he was peeling. "Medicine for what?"
"Oh, ummm," Kiba stammered, realizing what he'd said. "It's for my mind, it keeps me stable…"
"Seriously?" the Raven asked. "I didn't know you took anything like that."
"Yeah, I'm supposed to more often than I do….and I don't usually tell many people. Sorry, it isn't because I don't trust you or anything. It just makes people think certain things when they know."
"No, don't worry about it. I totally understand. When I was younger, Itachi had wanted me to go see a doctor about getting something like that, but once I went away to college I was fine. I always resisted it though, for the same reason you said."
"Curse the parents," Kiba said with a laugh.
"I know, right?" Sasuke said. "Well, let's fry up these shrimp and eat. I'm absolutely fucking starving."
"So am I," Kiba said. "It just suddenly hit me."
Once the shrimps had finished cooking and Kiba and Sasuke had assembled their first round of tacos, they went out and sat on the L-shaped sofa in the living room. Sasuke was flipping through the channels and he finally settled on a channel that was reshowing The Maltese Falcon.
"This movie is pretty cool," he said. "Have you seen it before?"
"I have, and you're right, it is really good. Just watch out for that Fat Man."
"Yeah," Sasuke said chuckling as he took another bite of his taco. His phone started vibrating on the coffee table and he set his plate down to grab it in case it was Itachi. He rolled his eyes and handed the phone to Kiba upside down so the screen wasn't showing. "It's for you," he said.
Kiba, puzzled, took the phone and turned it over. Upon seeing Sasori's name on the screen he dropped it with a terrified sound escaping his mouth. It now was Sasuke's turn to start laughing hysterically.
"What is he doing calling you?!" Kiba shouted. "That's so creepy!"
"Dude, he's probably worse than you think," Sasuke said. "You told me about your medicine, so I'm going to tell you a secret, too. Don't get mad I never admitted it before, it's actually really embarrassing, but I fucked around with Sasori a few times when he was friends with Itachi. I got sick of him so fast, but he was always calling and showing up. It was ridiculous."
"Wh-what?" Kiba said, almost dropping his plate. He then began shaking his head. "Oh, no. You can't have ever been that desperate…"
"No," Sasuke laughed, "but I was really young and stupid. I didn't know any better and my brother's friend was paying all this attention to me. We kept it a secret at first, but I had to tell Itachi eventually when he wouldn't leave me alone. I've never seen my brother so angry before."
"That guy is so creepy, I'm not surprised he's also a stalker. It couldn't have been very interesting for you…"
"No, now that I have more experience, I realize it was a total bore. He just liked to lay there, and he likes to scream like a girl when he's taking it," the Raven said chuckling.
Kiba made a motion with his mouth to indicate he felt like throwing up. "I really could have lived just fine without knowing that," he said.
"Let's fuck with him a little," Sasuke said picking up his phone and opening it to the text screen. "This will be fun."
can't talk at the moment, whats up? he typed and sent it to Sasori.
Oh, Sasuke, I'm glad you wrote back. I just wanted to say hello and see how the rest of your birthday went.
good, man…always fun to get laid on ur brithday
"I'm probably going to regret saying that, but he's going to lose his mind," Sasuke said after showing Kiba the texts so far.
Sasuke! I'm surprised that you're being so open, but I'm glad. I hope you think of me as an older brother figure…I'm here for you whenever you need someone to talk to.
"That's revolting," Kiba said after reading the reply.
"Yeah, makes what he did with me seem even worse. He told me he likes younger guys," Sasuke answered. "Need to keep it more vague I guess."
I was working out when you called, and i'm not alone at the moment Sasuke typed next. did u want anything in particular?
Working out? You always keep in such good shape. Why don't you send me a photo of you with your shirt off?
Kiba began making gagging noises.
not a chance in hell
Oh, I was joking of course. I've seen it before, but who is there with you?
"Please do not tell him I'm here!" Kiba cried. "I don't want him asking for a pic of my ass or something!"
Sasuke laughed and continued texting.
a friend
What sort of friend? An intimate friend? The one who you were with last night?
maybe
Is it Kiba?
"FUCK!" Kiba screamed. "This guy is scary as hell."
kiba has a bf, why would u say somethin so dumb? or are u trying to piss me off?
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything. It was just nice to see you, and Kiba, the other day. I thought maybe the three of us might have lunch again sometime?
idk…my brother might not like that…
Why would he need to know, Sasuke?
"I can't even fuck with this guy…" Sasuke said. "He's just irritating me now."
"You should just tell him to go hold up a metal rod in a thunderstorm," Kiba said with a giggle. "On a golf course."
"And then ram it up his ass?" Sasuke said, throwing his phone down on the sofa between them. "This is too boring."
The phone kept intermittently vibrating, but Sasuke didn't pick it up again as they watched the rest of the film which was mostly done by now.
"Well, the boys get back the day after tomorrow, Kiba," Sasuke said. "Did you have a nice time?"
"Yes!" Kiba said. "And it's not over yet, so don't sound so wary."
"I think you're the only person who would ever use the word 'wary' in everyday conversation," the Raven said with a smirk. "Except maybe for your boyfriend."
"It comes from all that reading he and I do," Kiba said with a laugh. "We should go find you a good book to read. Are there any local bookstores around?"
"There's a used bookstore around here someplace." Sasuke said after thinking a minute. "I remember Itachi bringing some books home every once in a while, but I don't think you'll suddenly turn me into a reader. I've just never had the patience for it."
"Hmmm," Kiba said. "What was the last book you read?"
"I'm sure it was something in elementary school…I couldn't tell you what it was though."
"That long ago?!" Kiba said in disbelief.
"Maybe high school," the Raven said smirking again.
"Gaaahhhh, that's still a long time ago. I still remember things I read in first grade, from our reading text books."
"You're so weird, Kiba," teased the Raven. "But I like you anyway."
"Oh, thanks," Kiba said.
The two stayed up watching more movies on TV until Kiba began to fall asleep around 1:00. Watching Kiba's head tilting backwards as he was falling asleep, Sasuke stuck out his leg and jabbed Kiba in his ribs with his foot, jarring him awake.
"Looks like it's bedtime," he said to his disoriented friend. "You can't keep your eyes open. Come on, let's take Akamaru out and get you to bed."
Afterwards, Kiba was lying in bed, wide awake now and unable to get back to sleep. He could hear Sasuke's regular breathing and knew he had fallen into a sound sleep.
It seems like he can sleep like a rock whenever he wants to Kiba thought to himself.
"I wonder what else about him is rock…" his conscious mused. You ought to reach over and check."
Must you be so perverse? Kiba answered back.
"I can only be how you want me to be…"
Sasuke loves me…he's going to hurt when Naruto returns. Maybe it wasn't a good idea after all to come and stay with him. At the very least I should have slept in the other room. I was stupid not to do that.
"That's why you should just let him fuck you."
It would make the situation worse…
"Everything is worse all the time anyway…Naruto and Itachi have been fucking all week, so why should you not get some from Sasuke?"
No he hasn't…he wouldn't do that…
"Why not? He's a hot, young guy. I wonder how many people's he screwed and u don't know about?"
None.
"Fool…even if he hadn't planned on it, I told you Itachi wants his ass. He spent a lot of money and I don't think he expects nothing in return…"
Stop….
"And Sasuke fucking Sasori…that's quite interesting."
It's disgusting.
"You're so jealous, aren't you? You won't fuck Sasuke but you don't want him to fuck anyone else, and you don't want Naruto to fuck anyone else, but you're in bed with Sasuke."
That's not fair…It isn't like that at all.
"Of course it is…you're in Sasuke's bed. You've slept there every night since you arrived. You don't really love anyone fully, do you? Not Kankuro, not Naruto, not Sasuke…"
I love Naruto…
"You don't! You aren't capable…remember all your secrets. He doesn't know, and if you told him, he'd leave you. He probably will anyway…"
Despair crept through Kiba's mind, and he turned on his side and softly cried, trying to be silent, but Akamaru knew something was wrong. The dog got up from where he was lying at the foot of the bed and walked partially over Sasuke to get to his distraught master. He licked at Kiba's face and Kiba reached back to pet him, but he couldn't stop crying.
"What's wrong, Kiba?" Sasuke asked, having been awaked by Akamaru, and turned over to find his friend so upset. "You miss Naru, don't you?"
Kiba could only nod his head rather frantically.
"Come here," the Raven said gently pulling Kiba's shoulder to roll him over so they were facing each other. "Akamaru, lay down."
The dog whined a little and then lay down next to Kiba's legs and draped his paw onto him. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Kiba holding him close so his head was resting on the Raven's chest.
"Lay down your sweet and weary head," he softly sang. "Night is falling; You have come to journey's end. Sleep now; And dream of the ones who came before…"
By the time Sasuke had finished the entire song, Kiba had calmed down enough to fall into a fitful sleep. The Raven lay awake holding him for some time before he also fell back asleep.