Notes: *comes out of hiding* ...Hi! Sorry this took so long, I wanted to have more than just a couple chapters written out before posting! I promise the rest won't take as long to post :)

Until next time,

Mutant.

Chapter One - Something to do

"Oi! Pick up your damn phone, teme!" Naruto bursts into Sasuke's room, effectively causing the raven to jump and quickly hide whatever he'd been doing. Naruto held his breath, knowing full well what Sasuke was trying to hide.

"You fucking dobe," Sasuke wiped at his face rather harshly. "There's a reason why I didn't answer your ridiculous amount of calls and texts." His voice a low sound barely echoing the room. He refused to turn his head around and meet the blond still standing in his doorway.

"Yeah, well," Naruto took off his backpack, "I'm bored and I brought some games." Sasuke felt the bulky bag thrown on the bed.

"I'm not in the mood," his head fell low, voice even lower.

"Obviously," but Naruto still dug out the board games from his bright blue backpack. A brilliant cerulean blue, just like his eyes. "Itachi said you've been in bed for a few days. He's really worried." Sasuke snorted, shaking his head a little.

"Hey, he's always fuckin' worried about you, okay?" His voice raised a little, almost shaking a fist at him. "I would be too, if you weren't such an asshole," Naruto smirked slightly, knowing it would evoke some kind of reaction from the pale man. And right was he when Sasuke let out a short, breathy chuckle.

"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke got up, still rubbing at his face. Naruto could only catch a glimpse of Sasuke's red cheeks as he sauntered his way to the bathroom, shutting the door and locking it behind him. Naruto eyed the door for a moment. Then made a break for Sasuke's bedside drawer.

And there it was, the bane of Naruto's existence. The thing he couldn't beat; he couldn't get Sasuke to beat. But it was the source of Sasuke's relief, his sweet dreams. His hard candy. His hero. Scattered in the drawer, in a small bag. In a bundle of foil. Littered with dirtied injections and razors sure to bring more danger than this little hobby of his would already cause.

Naruto felt helpless. He knew this about Sasuke, but he couldn't stop from feeling cheated and weak and angry and – he inhaled deeply and closed the drawer. The bathroom door unlocked and Naruto quickly made his way back over to his backpack on the other side of the bed.

"So, I was thinking," he held up a big brown box, "Sherlock's Consulting Detective, or…" he pulled a small green velvety pouch, "scrabble." Sasuke stared at him, the blond's face was oddly expressionless, and his tone was brash. "But I don't think you can handle either right now." Naruto let his arms fall straight down, looking Sasuke dead in his slightly red eyes. Sasuke swallowed.

"You've been missing work too much, Sas," Naruto was calmer now. Gentler. "How you're not laid off is beyond me." He took a few steps closer to the paler than normal, slightly taller raven. Sasuke felt a sudden wave of discomfort. Bunching up his thin eyebrows, he pushed past the brawny blond.

"Leave me alone, Naruto," he went for the door, "no one asked you to come." And just like that, Sasuke was out of Naruto's sights again. Sighing, Naruto followed Sasuke through the Uchiha manor. A lavish estate that's been in their family for generations. It was safe to say that Sasuke was lucky enough to be born into money, so it wasn't as if he needed the job. And neither did Naruto. Both of their families were of high rankings.

"Why do you even care about working at that dump, anyways," Sasuke said bitterly, knowing the stumbling behind him was the blond idiot.

"It's not a dump!" Naruto was offended, he loves that place. "It's fun working there, you get to meet a lot of people and-"

"It's a damn ice cream shop, Naruto," Sasuke rubbed at his forehead, stopping entirely once he reached the kitchen doors. He turned to look at a flustered Naruto.

"It gives us something to do," He shrugged. Eyeing Sasuke intently. "You know how bored I get. Besides, the employee discount's great, too." Naruto flashed a lopsided grin at Sasuke.

"Does that really matter?" Sasuke's voice was back to being barely there, and the blond felt his smile falter.

"I guess not," his eyes fell to the floor.

"Dobe," Sasuke shook his head and continued his way into the kitchen. Naruto was quick to follow, as if a force had been pulling him.

"Y'know, doing stuff and being out there helps you get your mind off whatever's bothering you," Naruto tried reasoning with Sasuke, as if he'd never tried it before. Sasuke inhaled sharply as he opened the fridge.

"I am not having this conversation again." He grabbed the orange juice and slammed the door shut. He walked over to the cabinets and took out a glass.

"Teme. You could always talk to me," Naruto waited until Sasuke was across the kitchen island pouring the juice into the glass to speak.

"I know," Sasuke said with a scowl on his face. He pushed the glass towards Naruto and placed the carton back into the fridge. Naruto looked at the glass, confusedly, but took it anyways.

"Then why don't you?" He moved towards Sasuke. Standing not too close, not too far. Just enough space between them for Sasuke to not feel threatened. Sasuke visibly heaved in a breath, standing with his head down. It was a long, quiet moment before he shook his head and spoke.

"So, what do you have planned for today?" Sasuke shook off whatever he was feeling, he didn't want Naruto to worry anymore. Itachi was pestering him enough as is. Naruto got the hint. He pressed his lips tightly together.

"Well, I was thinking of playing some games," he nodded upwards, towards Sasuke's bedroom, "but nevermind." He drank his juice and Sasuke felt like shit. "Y'know, haven't seen you in a while, thought we could catch up." He stood there awkwardly, body half turned away from Naruto. He closed his eyes, thinking that was going to make him disappear, to not have him deal with how terrible he felt.

But he just couldn't help it.

"We could always just go for a drive," Naruto's voice brought Sasuke back. He slowly raised his head and looked at the blond. "Like we always do," the bright blue eyed blond shrugged. Sasuke squinted slightly, as if Naruto was the sun; too bright, his eyes couldn't handle it. He felt something warm spread in the pit of his stomach. He brushed the feeling off, most likely the drugs had something to do with it...and nothing else.

"I'd like that."

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