3 months earlier
Naruto walked into the airport terminal from his flight, heading straight for baggage claim. Clenching his small carry on and flute case, his tired blues looked around the sea of heads until he saw a familiar head of hair, poking up high. Naruto smiled wide, lifted his free arm and waved about his head, "Shika!"
The pony hair stopped suddenly and turned towards the shout and began to move towards Naruto. A hand shot up and gave a slight wave in the process. Naruto slid his way between the throngs of people, muttering a few excuse me's and sorry's along the way before getting to his long time brunette friend. His smile beamed bright when Naruto brought both arms around his friend and squeezed him tight.
"Umph-Naru," the brunette grunted out as he was assaulted with the hug. "Go-good to see you too man."
"Shikamaru! You look good!" Naruto exclaimed as he lifted the smaller thinner man into his arms with a bone crushing hug. "Fuck I've missed you!" Naruto laughed out during the hug as Shikamaru mumbled out in agreement.
After grabbing his luggage, Naruto and Shikamaru made it out of the airport to an awaiting vehicle. Shikamaru popped the trunk, allowing Naruto to drop his belongings inside and the two were driving off.
"Doing better?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes still forward, focused on the road.
Naruto yawned and scratched his scalp. "A little. The seats still suck, even in business class, and the food - don't even get me started!" Naruto chuckled slightly.
Brown eyes glanced at Naruto. "No, I mean are you doing ' better '?" Shikamaru emphasized this sentence, knowing the knucklehead blond would need a push.
Naruto let out a sigh and leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "For now," he whispered and kept his eyes closed, his tone signified that there he wasn't talking anymore. Shikamaru sighed loudly, muttering under his breath as he kept driving.
Naruto flipped closed his suitcase, having placed his belongings in his childhood dresser drawers and wardrobe. Placing his now empty suitcase at the back of the wardrobe, he flopped down on his childhood bed on his back and released a long sigh. Staring up at the cream coloured ceiling, he nibbled on his bottom lip while thoughts stacked in his head like a lego tower, not stopping and threatening to teeter and smash into thousands of small bits.
"Naruto?!" A loud voice resonated through the floorboards and into Naruto's ears.
Naruto pulled his lips into a smile recognizing the voice immediately. He wasn't home when he arrived, but obviously he was now. When the bellowing called out again, Naruto chuckled and sat up, making his way downstairs.
"Look at you my boy! Your skin is pale!" The older man grabbed Naruto's face, turning his head back and forth, his dark brown eyes flickering over Naruto's face. "Your cheeks and eyes look sunken in and are those ribs poking out?" The man bellowed out and started poking at Naruto's rib cage after releasing his face. Naruto jerked about as the fingers poked at him.
"Gah! S-stop it! Ir-uu-ka!" Naruto giggled and panted out as he held onto the bottom of his shirt, just in case the older man tried to pull up his shirt.
The older man stopped poking at Naruto and stood before him, his eyes wide and full of concern. "Naruto," he breathed out, his eyes not moving from blue. "What happened?"
Naruto stopped jerking about when the poking stopped and slumped his shoulders. His head hung and he looked down at the floorboards, lacing his fingers together and kicked his toes at invisible dirt on the floor. "Iruka-san, I-..." Naruto was suddenly enveloped in thick arms and a warm body. His head was forced into the shoulders of the older man and brown thick hair covered his face. Emotions welled up in his chest, the familiar lump in his throat and sting behind his eyes followed. Naruto lifted his arms around the man and let himself be held tightly as his tears released.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Some time later, a bowl of steamy noodles was placed in front of Naruto at the small wooden table and the blond dipped his nose over the bowl, inhaling loudly as he dragged his face up and back. "OH oh oh! Iruka-san! You always know how to make a bowl of ramen!" Naruto exclaimed out and threw a grin at the brunette haired man sitting across from him, with his own bowl. Naruto rubbed his hands together humming out happily while he grabbed his chopsticks and giving a whisper of thanks before digging in.
Iruka watched Naruto inhale his noodles and he chuckled before digging into his own bowl. He knew the blond was struggling with something, and when Naruto was ready, he was going to get the story out of him.
Naruto leaned back, releasing a long hum of approval and rubbed his stomach. "Mm mm Iruka-san, that was sooooo good!" Naruto licked his lips and gave kissy noises with his lips, expressing towards the man how satisfied and grateful he was.
"Naruto…" Iruka's voice vibrated through the kitchen, a serious tone behind it.
Naruto's eyes popped open, focusing on the dark eyes across the table, who had his arms crossed and lips pinched tight together. His soft dark brown eyes were holding steady. Naruto gulped and his hand moved up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh...well," Naruto stuttered out and his eyes looked everywhere else other than the man across from him.
A deep sign resonated from the older man. Naruto peeked up to see his only family releasing his crossed arms and tilting his head, giving a small smile full of love and support. Naruto nibbled on his bottom lip before he began to speak. He told Iruka about his time in New York, writing his new score, his despair when he found the sheets were lost, the David Geffen hall, his meeting with Itachi and then Sasuke, the sudden whirlwind of excitement he felt when he was with Sasuke.
he brunette smiled, smirked and watched Naruto give his animated explanation of his adventure, his arms flailing about at times, his voice would rise high and drop low to almost a mumble. But nothing could hide the sparkle in those ocean blue eyes and flush of red that crossed his cheeks and nose when he began to talk about this Sasuke.
"Do you know Sasuke Uchiha Iruka-san?" Naruto stopped suddenly, freezing his eyes on the brunette.
Iruka's eyes widened and he inhaled a sudden gasp. "Naruto? W-what?"
Naruto beamed a smile at the man before he chuckled and ran his fingers through his thick blond hair. "Yeah, I didn't really know much about him at first, other than he was a grumpy bastard, with an ice stick up his ass-but," he sighed dreamily. "But his passion, his tenderness, talent…" Naruto looked starstruck as he trailed off, his thoughts going through the memories.
"Sasuke the Uchiha? Violin prodigy of Japan? N-Naruto! Th-that boy is-is essentially royalty in the musician world!" Iruka breathed out in surprise. "He's practically a genius! I have watched him since he was 5 years of age! And-and… oh my, really! Naruto!" Iruka stood and began pacing around the small kitchen, wringing his hands and trying to form sentences.
Naruto raised his brows and then frowned. "Well, the thing is Iruka-san, he-he isn't all that I thought he was…" Naruto whispered out, frustration was in his voice and Iruka stopped in his tracks to look at Naruto. Naruto frowned and his fists were clenching while he thought about what had happened the last time he saw Sasuke.
Iruka noticed the sudden change in Naruto and quickly sat down again at the small table. "Naruto?" His voice was heavy with concern, his eyes worried and watching the blond who dropped his face, causing his bangs to cover his eyes. "What happened?" Iruka whispered softly, reaching out, his hand grasping one of Naruto's clenched fists and giving him a warm squeeze.
Naruto began the story of how he came to find Sasuke in possession of his music sheets, how he had come across Sasuke playing his precious composition and left speechless when Naruto caught him red handed. His teeth were clenched as he recalled the scene in his head, the blank look on Sasuke's face, those wide black pools staring back at him in surprise, his score sheets sitting on the music stand behind Sasuke.
When Naruto had finished, he leaned back in his chair, looking and feeling emotionally exhausted. Iruka studied the boy for a moment, tilting his head and frowning slightly. He went over the details in his mind, processing the situation. "Naruto," he started. "I understand how you could feel so betrayed and then left in a rush." Iruka stood then and went to the counter, grabbing the kettle and filling it full of water. "Did you think about the possibility of why those sheets may have been in Sasuke's possession?" He slipped the kettle onto the stove before working his way to grab mugs from the cupboards.
Naruto bit his bottom lip, his eyes focusing on his now clasped hands on the table. "Well…" he couldn't finish that sentence.
Iruka placed the mugs on the table with the other articles for tea. He smiled warmly at the blond whose face was down and staring at his twiddling fingers. It was apparent that Naruto was thinking more intently about the situation and Iruka knew that other factors may come into focus for him, now that he has had time to think about it. Naruto was always boisterous in his youth, compassionate about the rights of others but often overlooked his own wellbeing. At times Naruto wouldn't slow down long enough to fully evaluate a situation and Iruka had learned long ago that offering different perspective questioning was helpful to Naruto to focus on the situation differently. Naruto had a big heart, a kind demere and just needed a little bit of a push and guidance at times to help him out along the way. Iruka remained silent as he prepared their tea and let Naruto think.
Naruto sighed loudly as Iruka poured him his tea then grabbed the cream and sugar, Naruto put in his heaping helping of each and slowly stirred the tea. Dipping his forehead into his palm, Naruto groaned out softly and rubbed his temples with his finger and thumb. "I didn't give him the chance to say anything Iruka-san," he whispered out. Iruka hummed in response. "A-and I guess, guess...well I dunno…" Naruto looked up sadly at Iruka.
"You don't have to figure it all out right now. You have time." Iruka gave Naruto a warm smile. "Now drink some tea and get some rest, no doubt you are exhausted from jet lag."
Naruto hummed in agreement while sipping at his tea. His eyes closed when he felt the warm liquid touch his tongue, the liquid warmed up his insides and the scent broke through the pounding thoughts in his mind.
==x00x00x00x00x00x==
Back to the Present
"Thank you everyone," Naruto breathed out to the crowd after finishing a set and wiping his brow with a towel. He smiled, nodded his head and took a swig of water while waiting for the applause to quiet down. When the audience began to fall into a hushed silence, Naruto spoke. "This next piece was composed by a most brilliant and talented pianist, Yiruma, and no I do not know him personally." Naruto beamed a smile and his shoulders shook slightly from a chuckle when the crowd laughed softly at his joke. "This particular piece he composed struck a deep chord within me, so to speak, and reminded me of some of my own special memories." He adjusted his flute, drank a few swigs of water from a water bottle before applying some chapstick to his lips. He then rolled his shoulders, clicked his neck back and forth before taking a deep breath. "Ladies and gentlemen," he spoke out to the hushed audience while bringing the flute up just an inch from his lips. " If I could see you again." Naruto inhaled slowly and deeply before blowing gently into the instrument and the soft sounds began to fill the auditorium.
The tunes started out soft and quick, bouncing between an uplifting sound for several bars, then the tunes began to sound like a story, sounding like two people walking through a bright sunny day, in a meadow filled with the colours of nature. The sounds continued to blend into a melody that had the listeners feel the corners of their lips turn up into a relaxing smile.
Naruto's body moved slowly with his flute to the relaxing uplifting sounds of two persons dancing until the melody began to slow, as if a memory was unraveling to reveal the reality of the person and the hint of sadness was apparent the way the music flowed over the audience. Several glistening eyes watched the beautiful blond flutist produce the haunting melody over the crowd.
One set of dark orbs had not moved, barely blinked, and those dark pools zoned in on the blond that shone in the spotlight on the stage. The orchestra added a soft tune in harmonic sync with the momentous melody that flowed from the silver instrument of Naruto. Sasuke felt each lonely note pierce his heart a little, leaving a shiver up his spine and an unfamiliar prickle behind his eyes, that he hadn't felt since-since, how long has it been?
Itachi closed his eyes and let the melody flow through his body and he found a small smile lift on his own lips. Naruto's playing was filled with such passion, that it was no wonder that all who heard his songs were instantly sucked into the stories that his melody portrayed. Truly, Naruto was a prodigy, as was his obouto, but Naruto excelled at expressing his emotions through the songs, which easily swept away an audience.
The applause and sounds of the crowd yelling bravo brought Itachi's mind back to the concert hall and looking to the other chair, he saw his otouto was nowhere to be seen. Looking to the side, the back wall curtains fluttered where Sasuke appears to have obviously gone through. Itachi tsked before turning back to seeing Naruto take his final bows and leaving the stage. A small smile lifted on his lips as he thought about what his otouto was obviously going to be doing next. "Well, perhaps I better go ensure that silly otouto doesn't make a fool of himself," Itachi said to no one as he stood. He offered a nod towards the stage, a silent offer of respect before turning and leaving the box.
Naruto chugged a bottle of water quickly in his room, placing his flute down on the velvet cloth sitting on the table. Damn he was thirsty, as he was after every performance and he sat heavily on a chair. Placing his water bottle down, he quickly shed his suit jacket and tossed it onto a small couch in the corner. Leaning his head back, he breathed out a long steady breath and closed his eyes. This was his first live performance since New York and he wasn't surprised how exhausted he was afterwards.
**Knock knock**
Without lifting his head, Naruto opened his eyes and glanced towards the door, giving it a scowl.
**Knock knock**
Naruto continued to ignore the knocking. He clenched his teeth, closed his eyes again and inhaled another deep breath. Whoever it was could leave, he wasn't in the mood to entertain any fans or his agent especially after a tiring performance.
**Knock knock knock - knock knock knock**
Naruto growled out and snapped his head up. Clenching his teeth, he stood quickly and stomped to the door as the knocking continued. Grasping the door handle he ripped the door open quickly. "What the f-"
Naruto clipped his mouth shut quickly, his lips pinched tight and his eyes narrowed slightly towards the dark haired man who stood before him, with his hand still closed tight in a fist and poised to knock on the door. Naruto's eyes took in the marble smooth pale skin, the sharp jawline, fine detailed eyebrows that framed the dark pool eyes that sucked Naruto into a starlight filled sky that always left him breathless. 'NO! Stop it. No matter how deliciously handsome, beautiful, stunning-" Naruto trailed off in his mind before shaking his head quickly. "What are you...no- I do not want to see you," he hissed out towards Sasuke before pushing the door closed with a slam and clicking the door locked.
"Naru-," Sasuke called out in a firm voice on the other side of the wooden door.
"Not interested," Naruto spat back out, cutting the raven off.
"Don't be stubborn dobe," Sasuke responded quickly. "I just want to talk," Sasuke softened his voice, leaned his shoulder on the door and crossed his arms.
Naruto turned and leaned his back against the door, the back of his head knocking on the wood and Naruto ran the palms of his hands down his face. 'Fuck fuck fuck!' Naruto could feel the lump in his throat begin to build and the sting behind his eyes threatened to spill. 'Why is he here?' Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose in a hope to stop the rising emotions he spent so much time suppressing.
"Naruto," the deep voice vibrated through the door and into Naruto's skin, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to rise. Naruto inhaled a shuddering breath and pinched his lips together, swallowing the lump back into his throat. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid teme...still all gorgeous, sexy and icy as fuck.' Naruto bit his bottom lip and slapped his palm on his forehead before running his fingers through his hair.
"G-go away," Naruto snapped out pathetically, unable to sound pissed off. 'Please…'
"I'm not going," Sasuke spoke back quickly, not missing the hiccup and uncertainty in Naruto's voice. He leaned his lips closer to the door, "come on dobe, I saw what happened in New York, and when you-," he hesitated, taking a breath. "I don't want to talk this way- please...Naruto."
The intensity of the baritone plea hit Naruto in the chest and twisted. He choked a sob and bit the back of his hand to suppress the sound. 'No no nononono!' He squeezed his eyes hard to stop the onslaught of emotions wanting to release. Unable to stop the single tear beginning to escape, holding the back of his palm to his lips, his knees quivered and his body slipped slowly down the door to the floor. 'Just go…' He slapped his palms against this face again, smuggling his sobs.
Sasuke's eyes closed as he heard the faint sounds coming from behind the wooden door, he worried on his bottom lip when a strike of pain shot through his heart and overflowed with guilt. Laying his forehead to the door, he knocked lightly once more. "Naruto...please," he breathed out shakily.
"Otouto," Itachi's firm voice came from behind Sasuke. "Naruto-kun has had a rather exhausting evening and certainly deserves his rest." His soft eyes fell upon Sasuke's pained ones. Itachi squeezed Sasuke's shoulder briefly. "I have left my card with his agent for Naruto-kun to call after he is well rested," Itachi's voice rose slightly, obviously making sure others could hear, especially a blond haired flutist behind wooden doors. Itachi nodded to Sasuke before turning and began walking back from where he came.
Sasuke watched his aniki walk gracefully into the dim lighting with all the grace of a prince. His brows pinched up in agony before looking back at the wooden door, the palm of his hand flat against it. The slight sound of a sniffle breached his ears and he squeezed his eyes shut along with his fist. He lifted his fist, his clenched hand shaking slightly, his teeth clamped in a frown and he punched his fist forward towards the door-and stopped. The sob that flowed from below the door struck him frozen and he lowered his head, dropping his head and shoulders with a shaky breath. "Please call," he whispered out before turning away and following Itachi down the dimly lit corridor.
==x00x00x00x00x00x==
It was late in the afternoon as Naruto stirred his spoon in a mug mindlessly, his hand holding up his head, his blond locks falling loosely over his forehead, his glassy eyes staring at nothing.
"Penny for your thoughts," Iruka's voice broke through the silence.
Naruto whipped his head around, shocked out of his stupor. He grinned sheepishly before lifting the mug to his lips to take a drink of his now lukewarm tea.
"How was your performance last night? I gather it was quite exhausting. You slept most of the day," Iruka spoke as he began to make his way around the kitchen, grabbing pots and pans.
"Mmm…" Naruto hummed out, trying to sound nonchalant. There was some truth to that statement, the headache and emotional exhaustion was worse after Sasuke had made his presence known on the other side of the door. He heard Itachi and the two Uchiha's leave from the door, but he most definitely heard Sasuke's plea for Naruto to call and his chest twisted from hearing the desperation in that voice. His agent had presented him with the card that Itachi had left him and Naruto shoved it in his pocket, not wanting to look at it. It still sat in his pants pocket, but even now, he itched to pull it out and look at it, but he fought it down, his heart still hurt from what happened in New York. Sleep certainty didn't come easy nor did staying asleep.
"Naruto," Iruka called out while he grabbed some vegetables from the fridge, placing them on a cutting board on the counter. Naruto's eyes flicked to his mentor and Iruka smiled. "You remember your sensei from your senior year, from your psychology class I believe," Iruka continued chatting while he started chopping away at the vegetables. He glanced to the side to see Naruto's eyes on him still and he smiled inwardly. "He's coming over for dinner shortly and it would be great if you could be here as well."
"Kakashi-sensei? Seriously? What for?" Naruto was shocked to hear of his old psychology sensei. He was a brilliant teacher, but came off laid back, lazy and most of all he knew that the man enjoyed reading hentai stories. Naruto couldn't think of any time that Kakashi-sensei wouldn't have a hentai book in his possession.
Iruka chuckled while dropping the vegetables into a pot. "Well, I met him at your graduation and we, well, kept in touch." Iruka shrugged and he dropped some chopped meat into a frying pan.
"Wah? What do you mean Iruka-san, kept in touch?" Naruto's mouth gaped open.
Iruka's eyes twinkled slightly, "well, we had a lot to talk about in common you know." Iruka shrugged while stirring the frying meat. "We talked mostly about you of course, in the beginning, then a few meetings led to another and so we started...umm…" Iruka trailed off, his cheeks developing a blush.
"Y-you and my-my psychology teacher?" Naruto whispered out, sounding horrified. Naruto's mouth just hung open, his blue eyes wide and staring at the back of Iruka's back.
"Mhm," Iruka just answered, the meat sizzling still.
Naruto clicked his mouth shut, shocked in the realization that his only family was currently in a relationship, with his old sensei no doubt, but obviously moving on in his life. In all the years that he had known and been with Iruka, there has never been anyone else. He appeared to be a bachelor and comfortable with it. The thought had never crossed his mind that Iruka may have been interested in a relationship of any kind. Iruka's life was always focused on what was best for Naruto, being the loving, caring and mentor to him for as long as he could remember after his parents... Could he have been so focused on himself that he never considered what Iruka might want in his life? Naruto pinched his lips in a frown, his thoughts now thinking about his childhood with Iruka.
"Naruto?" Iruka's voice broke through Naruto's thoughts. Iruka had finished the meat and seen the distraught look on Naruto's face. His bangs had dropped over his eyes, and Iruka noticed Naruto's silence and heavy breathing as an all too recognizable sign of Naruto stressing. "What's happening?" Iruka put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, hoping to ground the young man.
Naruto wringed his hands together when he looked up to those kind brown eyes. "Did you-were you…" Naruto choked out, trying to spit out the right words that he was thinking. "Was it because of me-you didn't have anyone, and…"
"Naruto!" Iruka pulled the blond in for a hug. "Don't ever think that!" he cooed out while petting Naruto's thick hair gently. Naruto's form was rigid. Iruka pulled back from Naruto and held his face gently, his kind brown eyes looking at blue. "I love you and would do anything for you, always," he whispered and smiled softly at the blond's sad face. "You are always my number one and I would never change that, even now." Iruka hugged him again.
Naruto shakily sighed out in Iruka's embrace, allowing the older man to hold him close, feeling his kind aura. "I'm s-sorry Iruka, I-I don't know why I'm suddenly-" He trailed off.
Iruka just hummed out in response, rubbing Naruto's back. Naruto always had insecurities buried deep within, hidden to the world through his loud and brash behaviours but Iruka was always there, being that support for him, even when Naruto tried to push him away. Though Naruto had come a long way over the years, Iruka was familiar with Naruto's insecurities and would often walk him through. And this time, was one of those times. With what Naruto had told him so far about his New York experience, Iruka knew that there was more Naruto had yet to talk about, but he would wait.
After a few minutes, Naruto pulled out of Iruka's grasp and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry, Iruka," he sniffled. "I really don't know why-"
"Hush now, it's alright," Iruka smoothed out the wild blond locks. "Take your time, you're only human after all." He smiled wide and placed a chaste kiss on Naruto's forehead. "Just relax. If you feel you aren't comfortable with him coming for dinner, I can just cancel and -"
"No! Don't!" Naruto snapped out quickly, grabbing Iruka's wrist. Be damned if he was going to be in the way of his guardian's happiness. He wiped his eyes. "It's okay. Besides, I'm looking forward to seeing the old perv-uhh…sensei again." He beamed a smile and gave a nervous chuckle when Iruka gave him a look when the word pervert almost slipped out.
A knock on the door echoed through the small home and both men turned their heads. "I'll get it Iruka-san!" Naruto jumped up, wiping his eyes quickly and trotting for the front door. He thought he heard Iruka mumble something about being a brat and Naruto just chuckled under his breath. Opening the door, stood a broad shouldered older man, his gray hair defying gravity in the most immaculate way, a medical mask covering his nose to the bottom of his face and those eyes crinkled up to show that the man was smiling. "Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto could admit that seeing his old sensei was definitely a warm feeling.
"Naruto-kun," Kakashi nodded with his smiling eyes. "You are looking great!"
"Come in, come in!" Naruto opened the door wider, allowing space for the older man to enter. Kakashi nodded his thanks and stepped in.
Several minutes later, the three men were sitting around the table, chattering about anything while enjoying the meal that Iruka had made. "Hey, that wasn't my fault!" Naruto called out, his voice sounding horrified, yet he laughed with his smile.
"Mah Naruto-kun, I know that! But you have to admit," Kakashi winked from across the table. "It certainly made for an interesting afternoon." He chuckled deeply while putting his used utensils on the plate. Iruka gave them both a questioning look, flickering his eyes between the two.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and gave Iruka a sheepish smile. "Well, it wasn't supposed to catch on fire, that was Kiba's fault! It's all because it caught on fire that set off the sprinklers, that drenched the whole school and well…" Naruto started giggling as he pushed back from the table into his chair. Iruka just narrowed his eyes at Naruto but his lips smiled slightly at the story that was just told. Naruto patted his stomach. "Man, thanks Iruka, that meal was delicious!" Naruto moaned out indicating he was full.
"So how was New York Naruto?" Kakashi asked when Iruka brought him a mug of hot drink.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "meh, it was alright." He poked and looked at his spoon, not meeting Kakashi's eyes. The New York situation was still a tender thought.
Kakashi tilted his head at the now suddenly somber Naruto and glanced at Iruka. Iruka gave Kakashi a soft smile and sad look with his eyes before gathering up the dishes to take to the kitchen sink. "Must have been quite the time eh?" Kakashi stirred his own spoon in his drink. "Anything interesting happen in the Big Apple?" Kakashi prodded. Naruto was always one to wear his heart on his sleeve, but he could tell something was bothering him. He didn't have a PhD in psychology for nothing. But Iruka had also mentioned that Naruto went through a hard time dealing with a situation that occurred in New York that he was still upset about and that Kakashi should be aware not to ask anything too personal during dinner.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders again. "The food was amazing, the Geffen Hall was brilliant, the people...man there were just so many people!" Naruto began to lighten up, recalling the American city, the life of the people, the nightlife and food and began to blabber to Kakashi, who nodded and smiled as he listened. "Oh, and I went on a carriage ride through Central Park! Then afterwards, there was this street fair, and hell! The food, the things they sold here, was great! Then at my performance, the acoustics in Geffen Hall were out of this world! The best I've heard for so long and I really do hope to go there again someday, especially since I didn't finish my last performance cause I kinda fainted…" Naruto quickly shut his mouth with a snap. His eyes looked to Kakashi and Iruka quickly before looking back down at his mug. 'SHIT!' He didn't want to mention that part, like ever.
"Naruto! What?" A crash of a dish was heard when Iruka dropped the dish he was drying onto the kitchen cabinet. "What happened? You fainted? Where were you? Did you get hurt? How?" Iruka was trying to dry his hands and walked over to Naruto, his hands reaching out and grasping Naruto's face and turning it around, inspecting it, then moving his hands through Naruto's hair.
Naruto sighed and let Iruka 'mother hen' him. "It's okay, really, I'm okay. The doctors said it was just exhaustion and I-I needed to rest. It's why I came home."
"Naruto, you've been home for three months! And you are just telling this to me now!" Iruka wiggled Naruto's head as a type of punishment before kissing his forehead. "Do you have any idea how much I worry about you?!" Iruka stood up and put his hands on his hips.
Naruto ran his hands through his hair, trying to get it back in control after Iruka looked him over. "This is why I didn't tell you! I don't need you to worry about me! You have your life to worry about!" Naruto waved his hand to Iruka, to Kakashi then circled his hand about the room, indicating the house.
Iruka blew out a big breath through his lips and then closed his eyes. He shook his head, "Naruto, you are practically my son, my everything." He knelt on the floor, his hand on Naruto's knee and he opened his big brown eyes, looking up at Naruto. "If anything, I mean anything, happened to you…" he trailed off, a sad frown on his face. "I-I don't know what I would do," he whispered out. "If you need help, I'm here."
Naruto's shoulders slouched and he hung his head. The guilt for not telling Iruka what happened when he collapsed at Geffen Hall filled his chest and the pained look in Iruka's face didn't help. He let out a sigh and gathered Iruka into his arms to give him a hug, holding back his sniffles. His old professor was here and he certainly didn't want this outburst to get worse! Iruka then kissed his temple and stood up.
"Now, how about some more hot chocolate and tea? And Naruto…" Iruka gave him a look. "We will talk about this later." Iruka gave a no nonsense nod and turned to get the hot water going.
Naruto looked sheepishly towards Kakashi, but the kind gray haired man's eyes were just crinkled up in a kind look and Naruto could see the smile outline behind the mask. Naruto blinked rapidly suddenly, a thought suddenly popped up. 'Uh… did he take off that mask to eat?' Naruto scratched his head as he thought back through dinner, realizing he couldn't remember a thing!
"So, Naruto, remember that boy Kabuto-kun?" Kakashi piped up.
Naruto stopped scratching his head and focused on Kakashi. "Kabuto...hmmm, that was the one who was top of your class that year eh? After all that shit went down in the last few months we were there, what did happen to that guy?"
"Naruto! Language!" Iruka scolded from the other side of the kitchen. Naruto eep'd out an apology.
Kakashi nodded and hummed. "Well, after that last stunt, he was given a chance with Orochimaru-sensei."
"Seriously?!" Naruto exclaimed, his chin fell and eyes fell open wide. "How? Wasn't he, but...well not that I don't wish the best for him and all, but that must have been a lucky break!"
Kakashi nodded and hummed again as he stirred his mug, after Iruka had poured more water into it. "Kabuto-kun is now working his way up becoming a first rate scientist under Orochimaru-sensei's direction. Not bad for one that caused so much trouble at times right?" Kakashi chuckled lightly.
Naruto rolled his eyes and threw his arms up. "Oh my gawd, I remember those last few weeks! Hell, if Hinata didn't come forward with what she saw...I would have SO been expelled!" Naruto flopped his hands onto his legs, causing a slap to sound out.
Kakashi nodded enthusiastically as he brought his mug up to his mask. "Well, just goes to show there are always three sides to every story eh? What you say, what the other guy says and what really happened, hm? I'm glad the Dean was willing to listen to what Hinata had to say." Kakashi quickly stood up with his mug. "Shall we go to the living room Iruka-chan?" Kakashi sing-songed out.
Iruka blushed madly before slapping Kakashi's arm playfully. "Stop calling me that!" He frowned at the now snickering gray haired man. "Naruto dear, did you want to come watch television with us for a while? The dishes are done, don't worry about them." Iruka smiled warmly at Naruto, who was still sitting at the table, his brows were furrowed in thought.
"Huh?" Naruto snapped his head up two sets of eyes watching him. He beamed his bright smile and grabbed his now refilled mug of hot chocolate. "Oh hey no that's okay! I got some stuff I have to review upstairs, so I'll say goodnight!" He stood up with his mug. "It was so good to see you again Kakashi-sensei!" The two older men nodded and smiled before turning and heading into another part of the house. Naruto pinched his lips together and brought his forefinger and thumb up to his chin. The pads of his fingers rubbed slowly across his jawline and chin while he stood there briefly, thinking. His thoughts were taking him back to when he was in his senior year and Kabuto had proven to make his final year the most challenging. He was accused of cheating on one of his exams, Kabuto had come forward with some accusations that sounded believable to the Dean and Naruto, no matter what he said, was risked being expelled. If it wasn't for Hinata, who saw what exactly happened and her evidence was undisputable, Naruto was saved and Kabuto was disciplined for his actions. Yes, thank goodness the Dean heard another explanation of the situation and Naruto was practically saved.
Naruto then had an epiphany. He never listened to what Sasuke had to say after his outburst at the Geffen Hall in New York. He frowned to himself as he thought back to the situation, what he had done afterwards and then taking off to Japan.
~flashback~
"Are you sure this is what you want Naruto?" Gaara asked while giving Naruto a hug at the airport terminal.
"Mhm, I'm sure. I-I need to get away from here," Naruto whispered back as he returned the hug.
"Did you at least talk to him?" Gaara asked when he pulled back from the embrace, his hands still on Naruto's shoulders and his green eyes looking back, concerned.
Naruto just sighed out and shook his head. Gaara snorted out an annoyed sound before crossing his arms over his chest and giving Naruto a pointed look. Naruto worried on his bottom lip and wouldn't look at his long time friend while his one hand went up to the back of his neck. "I'll work it out, promise." He peeked up at his red haired friend, a look of desperation and hope.
Gaara just nodded firmly before giving the blond a couple friendly slaps on his shoulder.
~end flashback~
Hearing the television click on and random noises float down the hallway, Naruto took that as his hint to head upstairs and give his mentor some privacy with his boyfriend . Naruto still couldn't believe the situation, but he smiled to himself at the happiness Iruka was obviously in. He grasped his mug of hot chocolate and trudged his way up to his room. He had a lot of thinking to do.
Back in his room, Naruto sat at his desk, several music books open, his pencils in random spots and he flipped a business card around and around between his fingers. He knew all the words by sight, the scribble on the back side with a 10 digit number written elegantly in a soft black pen but he just continued to stare at it, while he rotated it between his fingers. He thought more and more about what his old sensei had said, what happened in New York, but he still couldn't bring himself to move past that. Sighing loudly, he dropped the card on the table and got up to shower. It was getting late, and suddenly he was very tired.
==x00x00x00x00x00x==
Sasuke pushed the bow across the strings long and steady. A small drop of sweat began to travel down his temple but he paid it of no mind. The cords of the ballad were simple enough, but the story and sounds that erupted from his violin struck his chest and his emotions were threatening to expose themselves. Sasuke grit his teeth, clenched his bow and the neck of his violin tightly, determined to finish the ballad as a way of reminding himself of how he got to where he was. After Naruto's performance and failure to meet and talk to the blond, Sasuke looked up the ballad Naruto had played to know more about it.
It was composed by Yiruma, the pianist, in 2001, and even though Sasuke didn't find out what the song represented, the way Naruto played it, so effortlessly pushing all his emotion into it, left Sasuke feeling as if he was stabbed deeply in the heart. He couldn't help but think of how that song reached out to him on a whole different level. He found the sheet music online and began to learn the chords, finding the emotional ties that he saw and could feel Naruto express. As he played, memories of their time together in New York flashed through like an old film reel. The events of the last few hours began to filter through as he hit the last few chords that slowed to a softer, sadder feel to it. Shit...it really did feel like the end.
He dropped his arms, breathing heavy and he just glared at the music sheets before him. 'FUCK! The blond was so-so stubborn!' He brought an arm up to wipe at his forehead, scowling under his breath at the sweat that soiled his sleeve. Grabbing at the music sheets, he flipped them to the floor, spent and annoyed at the whole feel of that music score. Grabbing a bottle of water he walked to the table, placing his violin in the case with the bow before sitting and resting his forehead on the palm of his hand. He rubbed at his forehead briefly before opening his eyes and seeing the slightly crumpled up sheets at the other end of the table. His teeth clenched slightly at the sight of those sheets. 'It's all your fault you know,' he said to himself while his eyes glared at the music sheets. 'If you didn't get lost, if I hadn't found you, none of this shit would have happened.' After several moments, then Sasuke realized he was scolding some inanimate music sheets on his table, he chugged the rest of his water and grabbed the sheets. Placing them on his stand, he straightened them up and reviewed them over. He knew all the chords by heart now, the melody playing in his head, but the sound he made with his strings made him most excited just thinking of it. He walked over and grabbed his violin, wanting to play those black notes once more.
As Sasuke slowly went through the music, his mind fluttered thoughts of his time again with Naruto in New York. His deep laughter, the sun shining and highlighting his hair, the way his eyes would crinkle in the corner when he smiled at him and of course, the feeling that he was wading in the ocean when those incredible blue eyes bore into him. Though his watery eyes, sounds flooded through the memories, that caused his arm to quiver over the smooth notes. His emotions weakened him so quickly, he dropped his hand, the silence overcoming the room once again. But in his mind, a melody kept playing. Sasuke squinted his eyes and listened closely. After several moments, he ran to the table and grabbed a pencil. Ripping out a score sheet from his notebook, he began to fill in the notes that continued through his mind onto the sheet as fast as he could. It wouldn't stop, the melody kept ringing through his ears. He began to pant as he struggled to keep up with the notes, writing, hearing, writing more, begging his mind to keep those notes in his memory, long enough for him to get them down on the paper.
Itachi came in some time later to find his otouto passed out on the table. His arms folded neatly under his head, the pencil hanging loosely from his fingers. Itachi smiled warmly, moving towards the sleeping Sasuke, his eyes skimming over the sheets that were spread beneath the sleeping form. The sheets were new, Itachi hadn't seen these scores before and he pinched his lips with interest. Was his otouto writing again? He hadn't seen Sasuke compose anything for years and by Sasuke's apparent exhausted form, this particular piece seems to have driven him to a point of exhaustion. He laid his hand gently on Sasuke's shoulder, the pressure waking the sleepy little brother.
Sasuke's eyes blinked open, lifting his head slowly from his arms and he covered a yawn that escaped his lips. "Hmm, nii-san? What time is it?" Sasuke rubbed his eyes.
Itachi hummed and smiled at the childish move by his otouto. He was immediately reminded of when Sasuke was but a small boy, chasing after Itachi, hanging on his every word and falling asleep in all places waiting for Itachi to be done with his chores and play with him. "It's mid afternoon. I came to see if you had eaten yet, but judging from the looks of the place," Itachi waved his hand about and nodded his head. "You haven't left the room." He chuckled deeply before pointing a finger at the sheets, "what are these?"
Sasuke blinked the sleep out of his eyes hearing his nii-san chuckle at him before he looked at where Itachi was pointing. "Oh!" Sasuke began to gather up the sheets that were scattered across the table, stacking them nicely and in a pile. "This-," he started. "Is what I was coming up with after playing Naruto's song." He placed the sheets down and ran a hand through his dark hair, his other fingers tracing the penciled notes that littered the lines of the staff that ran across the sheet.
Itachi tilted his head in interest. "Can I hear?"
Sasuke rubbed his palms down his face, erasing the last bit of sleep out of his body and inhaled a deep breath. He grabbed the sheets gently and stood. "Sure nii-san. Tell me what you think."
Itachi smiled when he saw the spark in Sasuke wanting to play. He quietly sat down where Sasuke once did, and watched intently as Sasuke began to warm up before starting Naruto's song. Itachi felt the familiar melody float around him, the emotions behind the tunes reaching deep into his inner core, stirring up the emotions that often laid dormant. Itachi's eyes closed, allowing the emotions to mix with the sounds, his body feeling warm all over. When he recognized the part that it would abruptly end, his ears twitched listening to the melody continue. He opened his eyes and watched Sasuke's form hold his violin, his arm moving smoothly and gilding the bow over the strings like a river running effortlessly over a rock bed. He folded his two hands together, tucked them under his chin and continued to watch Sasuke until he was finished several minutes later.
Dropping his arms, Sasuke placed his violin gently on the ground beside him and then turned to look at Itachi. "It-well, still needs some work, but that's the just of it, what did you think?"
==x00x00x00x00x00x==
Several days later, Naruto sat at an outdoor cafe, taking bites of his danish and drinking his hot chocolate. The sun was beaming down on him, spreading warmth all over his body and he inhaled the air. The crowd was several feet down, he could hear the shuffling, the hustle and bustling of pedestrians moving about the streets below. Naruto always enjoyed this cafe, it was situated on the top of the building, so one could enjoy the outdoors without the continuous traffic noise and people chattering on the busy street below. At least on the rooftop the noises were muffled to a dull white noise. He closed his eyes briefly, enjoying the heat of the sun and the sweetness of his treat and drink.
"You're looking well Naruto-kun," a deep voice resonated in Naruto's ears.
Naruto smiled when he heard the voice and opened his eyes to meet the man who was taking a seat across from him at the small table.
"Thank you for calling," the man finished while settling into his seat.
Naruto beamed a smile at him. "Can I get you anything?" Naruto held up his hand, catching the attention of a server. "Coffee, tea, espresso, anything?" Naruto smiled again when the server came to the table.
"A black coffee with a bran muffin, if you have," the silky smooth deep voice told the server. When the server turned away to get the order, moist pink lips rose to give a soft smile and kind black eyes locked on blue. "How have you been? You know we were very worried when you disappeared."
Naruto pouted slightly and averted his eyes. "I'm sorry Itachi," he whispered out while his fingers tightened around his mug. "It was, well, how can I say, a very emotional time for me." Naruto then moved his hand, rubbing his one cheek.
Naruto's guilt had finally given him the courage to call Itachi, though it was practically a week after his performance at Suntory Hall. A week after he had heard Sasuke's pleading voice through the wooden door. A flash of guilt hit him once again before he steadied himself and looked up at Itachi.
"Hn," Itachi responded and thanked the server when his coffee was placed before him. "I won't ask what happened, but are you alright at least?" His dark eyes expressed a deep concern.
"I'm better...now, well, kinda?" Naruto chuckled nervously. He took a deep breath before continuing on. "I've had some time to process what happened, and my father helped me out a lot too, not to mention my perverted old sensei made some sense to me too." He chuckled again as he remembered Kakashi's words and how he put them.
Itachi raised a brow at the word father. From what he understood, Naruto's parents were dead.
"My guardian Itachi," Naruto smiled at Itachi. "Don't think I didn't catch your expression when I mentioned my father. Heh. Look, I figured you probably researched me online, and hey, that's okay!" Naruto waved his hands back and forth towards Itachi showing that he wasn't angry at the thought. "I suspected you may do that considering how protective of Sasuke you are. And besides," Naruto gave a sheepish grin. "It's not like nobody can look up stuff on the net about me anyhow. But I never looked up you or Sasuke. I guess-I was just hoping that he would share that information with me himself." Naruto bit his bottom lip and looked down into his mug. It was getting empty and cold.
Itachi watched the blond redirect his eyes often, as if he was frightened of what Itachi may say or do. He pondered his next words carefully. His slender elegant fingers tapped at the table top for a moment, his lips pinched tightly together in thought. "I'll admit I did look you up, shorty after we had met." He gave a soft smile. "You see, I have not seen anyone get a rise out of my otouto such as you did the first time we met at the coffee shop in New York."
Naruto blushed feverishly at that memory. He found that Sasuke was such a jerk but a handsome and fascinating one at that! In all his memories, he couldn't think of anyone else that came off as intellectual quick witted as the raven haired man.
"And you know, there aren't many people with the name like Naruto in New York I'm sure," Itachi chuckled. "I was curious of course, and though I figured even though the name may bring up a host of individuals, I just tried it out." He flicked his wrist and gave a shrug as if it was something he usually did everyday. He then gave Naruto a serious look. "Understand that for years, people have tried to get our family's attention through any means possible and I am always looking out for Sasuke's safety."
Naruto nodded quickly, understanding completely. Iruka has shared with him about people that came out of the woodwork, stating they were Naruto's long lost family after he started becoming more and more famous. There were always people out there hoping to cash in on some rich orphan or family.
Itachi leaned back in his chair and gave Naruto a smile. "Imagine how shocked I was to see your picture pop up on the search and some facts about you." Itachi winked then and sipped at his coffee. "But I didn't read into it," he continued after his sip. "Your picture, with your name and the little bit of bio that comes with your name as a prodigy flutist, was all I needed to know. Though it was hard not to see the event with your parents and my deepest condolences Naruto." Itachi gave Naruto a caring look and Naruto just gave a nod in response with a kind smile. "As for anything else, I feel, is up to you if you wanted to share with anyone else. I'm not one that hangs on gossip, especially over dramatized or tragic ones, from the internet." He sipped his coffee again, his eyes soft as they held Naruto's blues.
Naruto's head tilted, he gave a grateful smile and then the blush was back. He nodded his head and murmured a thank you while finishing off his danish. A warmth of trust flushed over him towards the man and he instantly relaxed.
"And please realize that Sasuke isn't the type of man to seek out information by any other means to find out information about you." Itachi added on quickly while the blond was thinking.
Naruto bit his lip for a moment while he thought. 'That's true, he never knew my last name until I actually told him and he never asked, even after we-.' Naruto blushed again realizing what they had both been up to before that time.
"How is he?" Naruto's voice squeaked out, as if he was nervous about asking such a question. He knew he had no right to ask, but somewhere inside there was a small glimmer of hope?
Placing his mug down Itachi hummed out while pinching his lips together. "Physically, fit as a horse. Mentally, well, I think that is something you should talk to him about." Itachi's voice was firm like an older brother. Naruto paled instantly. "I will say that he tried on several occasions to contact you the only way he knew how-your cell phone."
Itachi's chin tilted down as he looked up with his eyes, giving Naruto a look that reminded Naruto of a strict school teacher. Naruto suddenly felt like he was being interrogated under a bright lamp. Clenching his teeth and giving a nervous frown, "uhh, oh yeah. Well, my phone kinda bit the dust after the situation at Geffen and it was found afterwards under a bench seat at Geffen Hall." Naruto looked through his lashes at the now scary older brother. He didn't know why Itachi made him feel so guilty like he was just found with a handful of cookies that he was told he couldn't have. He rubbed his hands on the upper part of his arms like he was cold. "And since I was going home, I just got a new one with a number from here." He gave Itachi a sheepish smile before he frowned. "I'm sorry I really didn't think that Sasuke would try and call me after-after well, you know."
Itachi just hummed. He could see that the blond really did feel quite guilty over the whole situation and he did have valid reasoning for what happened afterwards.
"I-I would like to apologize to him, but-he seems so proud and I don't want to be a nuisance to him or be in the way..." Naruto trailed off and stared at his now twiddling fingers. His hot chocolate was long gone as well as his danish and he couldn't find himself to stare the elder Uchiha in the face.
Itachi frowned when Naruto's obvious insecurities rose to the surface. He cleared his throat. "Naruto." Naruto blinked and looked up at Itachi. Those impossibly large blue eyes shimmered slightly and looked so sad that Itachi wanted to pull the boy into his arms and coddle him! Itachi could see why Gaara was so protective of his blond haired blue eyed friend. Itachi leaned forward over the table slightly as if he was going to whisper something and placed a hand over Naruto's. "Let's take in a show at the Suntory Hall coming up in a couple weeks, my treat." Itachi's eyes wrinkled when he smiled at the blond.