Hi my darlings,
So listen, I was going to update this yesterday but work has been ridiculously insane, and I fell asleep right after dinner (while trying to finish dinner?) today was full of back to backs and tomorrow I have travel for work again, and I'm low key frustrated that I can't write while on the road (eight hours wasted T.T) because it's hard to write SasuNaru goodness as co-pilot for my supervisor who has no idea...no idea the filth I come up with...(ʘ‿ʘ)
Ok so there is a little bit of sadness in this chapter but there is also a bit of fluff so I hope it evens out because goodness I had not realized this chapter was coming out this week... alongside a pretty heavy chapter for The Help T.T I didn't mean for them to stack up
As always thank you so much for all the reviews, kudos, bookmarks, and just your amazing support ❤
Rating: M (Explicit): Just a tiny itty bit of crumbs
Disclaimer 1: The following show is mentioned in this chapter. I do not own it: Singles Inferno-Netflix
Disclaimer 2: They are not mine ok? Any characters portrayed in this fic belong to Masashi Kishimoto. I just use my writing powers to right his wrongs...mainly the fact that he never made Sasuke and Naru Canon.
Gateway Exposed
Chapter 5: Beijing
Naruto walked down one of the lobbies, he'd been walking around the hotel pretty much all morning, he'd even taken a break to read in a nice little spot he found on the roof terrace before going back to wandering about, and still, he hadn't managed to see everything. He stopped as he spotted the raven-haired man by the bar, walking back and staring, the hair was too long to be Sasuke's.
"Itachi?" He asked as he walked over and plopped down on the stool next to the raven. Eyeing what looked to be a double whiskey on the rocks in Itachi's hand, it took a couple of seconds for the dark eyes to settle on him "Naruto, I forgot for a second you came with, should have called you down"
Woah, that was a little too drunk for three in the afternoon, well technically back home it would be...evening? Or early morning? He really hated the time difference "I figured you all wouldn't make it back until after five or six" Itachi looked so different with a serious expression, Naruto had grown used to the amused smirk being permanently plastered on his face.
"I ditched Haku, he's been messaging me nonstop for the last two hours, I'm sure to get an earful when he finds me"
"I can help hide you, I'm down for anything that makes his life miserable" Itachi chuckled.
"Can I get you something?" The bartender asked and Naruto shook his head "You're really going to let me drink all by myself?" Itachi asked.
Naruto rolled his eyes "Anything that's sweet" he turned back to Itachi
"Are you ok?" he asked as he bumped his shoulder against Itachi's "I don't know" the raven said softly.
Naruto bit his lip, he looked sad... "You want to talk about it? I can be sworn to secrecy"
"Even from Sasuke?"
"I don't think there's anything you could tell me that you wouldn't share with him yourself," The blonde said as he took a sip of whatever concoction the bartender had placed in front of him.
"Are you two doing ok? Are you doing ok?" Itachi asked.
"What do you mean?"
"There were some pretty thoughtless articles posted online after you two became public, I'm asking if you're doing ok, Sasuke is already used to it, but you aren't"
He raised his hand at the bartender and Naruto reached out grabbing his wrist and pulling it down "I think you've had enough for now, how about we get you to your room"
"Only because there's a mini bar in the room," Itachi said as he stood up, Naruto following behind him, when they reached Itachi's room Naruto walked in after the raven, it just didn't feel right to leave him alone.
Itachi stopped halfway through the living space "You didn't answer my question"
It took Naruto a couple of seconds to figure out what question Itachi was talking about "It was hard, the first two to three weeks were the hardest, but we're doing ok" Naruto said at last "Sasuke might be used to it, but he isn't used to you know…seeing me react, he takes it really hard sometimes and I worry"
Itachi turned around and reached out, pulling the blonde in for a hug before Naruto could figure out what was happening.
"Thank you for taking care of him...for staying" the blonde hugged back a little stunned, somehow the tone the raven used made him get emotional. He took a step back and walked Itachi over to the couch, then walked to the mini fridge and pulled out the array of alcoholic drinks that had been left by room service.
"Your tone tells me I shouldn't judge how many of this you're going to need tonight, and Sasuke can join us and keep the party going after he gets back," the blonde said as he sat across the raven "We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to but…" Naruto trailed off a bit as he opened the small bottle of whiskey and handed it to the raven.
"Did you ever google me?" Itachi asked from across the blonde and Naruto's head cocked to the side "of course not, you only worried about looking Sasuke up and any shenanigans he might have been up to before you" Itachi said with a soft smile, Naruto blushed crimson red.
"I have my own set of scandalous articles with a lover people didn't approve of, all you have to do is look," He said a little bitterly as he tipped the small bottle back.
So Itachi this was about someone he'd dated, had he bumped into them earlier in the day or something?
"I'd rather you tell me," he said, remembering Sasuke's words about how his life was always measured up in articles.
Articles portrayed the Uchiha's as ruthless, but knowing Itachi and Sasuke Naruto wouldn't call it ruthlessness…they both worked hard and sometimes had to make some difficult decisions. But none of those choices were ever made with ill intentions toward others. Though he couldn't attest to the rest of the family.
They portrayed them as rich and untouchable, when all they wanted was to make real connections with people…that's who he'd seen on the cruise, two brothers relishing in just 'being' and not pretending for once…
Naruto could almost see the emotion swirling through Itachi's eyes "I was engaged once"
The blonde's eyes widened, Itachi had been engaged? What had happened? Who in their right mind would decide not to be with someone like Itachi…"What happened?"
"Everything happened," Itachi said softly tipping the rest of the bottle back and reaching for a new one. Naruto crossed his legs on the couch giving Itachi his full attention.
A soft smile settled on Itachi's face as he looked at the blonde, Naruto had such easygoing energy about him, it made it easy to want to share.
"Her name was Konan, I met her at the coffee shop near the office" He leaned back against the armrest, closing his eyes, he could always remember clearly the first time he'd looked at her "She worked part-time and the coffee shop and part-time at an up and coming Tattoo parlor" Naruto already knew where this was going, they'd ripped him apart for his medical assistant certification, he can only imagine what part-time barista, part-time tattoo artist was plastered as.
The raven was quiet for a second before he continued "She was clueless as to who I was, much like you were with Sasuke" He looked at the blonde with a small smirk "Must have been quite a shock when you finally looked him up"
Naruto bit his lip, Sasuke and he had to learn so much, they really had to do some growing up to make the relationship work, but every time they jumped a hurdle they only made it out the other side stronger.
"I didn't do what Sasuke did, I didn't keep our relationship a secret, I was afraid she would think I was embarrassed of her"
Naruto was about to open his mouth "I'm not saying it to imply that's why Sasuke did it…I should have done it myself…I should have given her the option, becoming public should have been her choice—maybe it was never meant to be, maybe I just wasn't the right person for her"
"Itachi I highly doubt that—I mean I don't know what happened but you're amazing"
"Konan was in NA," he said softly, he should have done so much more for her, sometimes he wished he could go back and do it all over again differently "She was doing well when I met her, but the moment the press got hold of it…" He rubbed his face before he finished his second small bottle.
"I'm sorry…" Naruto muttered, he couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like for them…even with the anxiety and the panic attacks he felt like the world was closing in on him sometimes. For an addict, a feeling like that could push them right over…He'd seen Shizune work with people recovering from addiction and it was always such a tough sight.
"Did she…relapse?" He asked
"No, she actually didn't, but there were a lot of fights, my dad…he wasn't happy about the engagement, he never trusted her, I was being pulled in two completely different directions and didn't know how to handle it…then…then we were fighting over and over about...everything, about work, the time I spent at the office, the way people followed her around, she had to jump through hoops just to make it to a meeting …"
"So she broke it off?"
Itachi scoffed, "There's three geniuses in this generation, she actually married the third one"
Naruto's eyes grew wide as saucers "She married someone else from your family? " he grabbed one of the small vodka bottles and straight up tipped it back "Fuck Itachi…I…"
"Right yeah, people don't usually know how to respond to that, I introduced her to my cousin Shisui at a Christmas party, and apparently, he was better at making time on his schedule for her than I was…maybe he was better, he didn't hesitate for a second to step back so he could be there for her…" Itachi wanted to, he really did, but he'd grown up with so many obligations he'd never wanted to let his family down…and Konan was gone before he could work through his conflicting emotions.
"All news media was talking about her being engaged to me, then she married a different Uchiha than the one they were expecting"
"Were you and Shisui close?"
"Yeah we're the same age, grew up together, graduated University together…hey why are you crying?"
"That's so sad, Itachi I had no idea, and you're always so nice and just-I know there is someone amazing out there for you" Naruto leaned forward pulling the raven into a hug "I'll fight her"
A small laugh left the raven "Will you?" he nodded as he sat back "Cross my heart, team Itachi all the way"
"Don't let Sasuke hear that"
"Sasuke's a softie for you, he's team Itachi any day too," the blonde said as he wiped the tears away.
Itachi leaned over ruffling the blondes hair "Thanks for listening"
"Anytime" Naruto's phone rang on the side table and he reached over to see Lover on the display.
"Hey love" he answered as he put the phone on speaker
"Where are you?"
"At Itachi's" there was a pause "Haku is about ready to murder him"
"We're not talking business today, we're getting drunk"
"Are you drunk?" Sasuke asked, he never liked it when Naruto got drunk when he wasn't there.
"He's got this real cute blush going," Itachi said by the speaker with a smirk, having talked about it with Naruto helped, it was like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Sasuke would listen, but…it wasn't the same, he'd never just laid it all out the way he did just now, everyone was always too afraid or hesitant to even bring the subject up.
"He's lying I had half a drink at the bar and a tiny bottle of vodka"
"But Sasuke we still have to go over—" the call cut off and Itachi smirked, looking down at his phone and starting a count to see how long it would take Sasuke to get to his room.
Sasuke was at the door in record tie, Tenma trailing behind him looking flustered, Naruto grabbed them both and pulled them into the room "You want a drink?"
"I'm always down to party but Sasuke and I still have to go over some reports, and Haku said Itachi–"
"Nope," Naruto said as he pushed a mini vodka bottle into his hands "Drink, every time someone uses the word 'report, meeting, or work' they drink"
Itachi sat back amused at Naruto's attempt to distract him.
Tenma gave in, his tie was now a headband and they'd room serviced a bottle of hard liquor.
Itachi's serious look was gone, and his amused smirk was back in its rightful place, despite Naruto's feelings towards Haku. He'd been fairly polite when the brunette had nearly banged the door down as he opened the door and pulled the brunette inside "Look, I know you and I don't get along, and I know you're angry at Itachi for slipping away, but he just needs a night off, come have a drink or take the night"
Haku looked to the side to see Tenma holding up a paper of a cherry being stabbed by a straw, Naruto turned and spotted the drawing "What are you all doing?" Haku's voice cut through
"Adult Pictionary, whoever guesses first saves themselves from taking a shot"
He rolled his eyes, "Sasuke and Itachi are actually playing?"
"Naruto, Sasuke guessed, take a drink!" Tenma shouted, Naruto turned back around and plopped down next to Sasuke who offered him a shot glass. Haku hesitated for a bit before he walked over, sitting next to Itachi.
"I'm only here to ensure you won't drink so much you won't be able to get up for work tomorrow"
"Ha! You said the word work, you take a shot!" Tenma said, serving up the shot.
Naruto smirked as he served up another shot "You also take a shot because you said it"
"But I only said it, to say that he said it!"
Haku stirred to the sound of Sasuke's voice, he'd leaned his head against the couch and passed out, he opened his eyes groggily to spot Sasuke grabbing a drunk Naruto and throwing him over his shoulder, the blonde giggled "I'm cutting you off" Sasuke said as he slapped the blonde's ass lightly.
"But we're having so much fun" Sasuke turned and spotted Tenma, Itachi and Haku completely passed out before he turned around "Everyone is already passed out"
"Sleepover!" Naruto said from his spot on the raven's shoulder "No, I'm taking you to bed-our bed"
"To do what?" the blonde asked suggestively, Sasuke chuckled "You have any requests?" and the noise died down as the door closed after the pair exited the room.
He opened his eyes as he shifted on the floor, his ass hurt from sitting on the hard surface "He's in love you know" He turned back startled, to look at Itachi.
"Who?" Itachi raised an eyebrow at him "Sasuke, and you'll only continue to push him away the longer you keep rifting with Naruto, you think it wasn't suspicious the press found out about Naruto the same day Sasuke transferred you?"
The brunette's eyes hit the floor, he'd been so angry…he should have given himself some time to calm down "I don't know what you're talking about"
"You two were friends before you were lovers you know," Itachi said as he sat up, moving a raven lock out of his face.
Haku poured himself another shot and tipped it back "Konan is happy, does that make it any easier to see her with Shisui?"
"Konan and I were engaged Haku," Itachi said while throwing the brunette a look before he continued "I could have done a lot of things after she left me for him but it wouldn't have changed the fact that she didn't want to be with me anymore"
"I know…I just" He stood up and plopped down next to the raven "I miss him"
"I really do wonder though, are you in love? Or are you obsessed with the idea of being the right person for him"
Haku then poured himself and Itachi another shot and handed one to the raven "Here, this will help you knock out again"
Naruto giggled as Sasuke dropped him on the bed, the raven looked down at his lover "you had way too much to drink"
The blonde pouted "Itachi was sad"
Sasuke climbed over his lover kissing his lips softly "Today was hard on him"
Sasuke had seen the look that passed through his brother's eyes when Shisui's name came up. He'd been trying to sneak away all day long to check on him. But turns out he had nothing to worry about because Naruto had him…the blonde had made sure Itachi had fun all night long, even shoved his distaste for Haku to the side because in his eyes today was all about making sure Itachi had a great time and Sasuke loved him for it.
The raven undid the blonde's bottoms helping him undress for bed "We need to find him someone" Naruto slurred about as he lifted his hips but then his eyes fell on the raven as he slipped off his own pants.
"Oh, we have to find him, someone?" Sasuke asked amused. Then the raven smirked as he noticed Naruto's eyes trailing him
"Fuck–you're hot," Naruto said softly as Sasuke climbed the bed while unbuttoning his shirt and slipping it off, reaching to pull Naruto's shirt off "Maybe I should ask Gaara if he's exclusively a top" Sasuke left the shirt halfway across Naruto's face and halfway across his arms as he dropped his hands looking incredulously at the blonde "I'm sorry why is his name coming up now?"
Naruto fell back on the bed twirling about trying to take the rest of the shirt off in his drunken state "because Itachi's bi right? They'd look hot together"
"Weren't you nudging Gaara to take the reporter on a date?" Sasuke asked looking down at the squirming blonde.
Naruto let out a little exasperated huff as he tangled himself even more in his shirt "Sasuke help" The raven rolled his eyes as he reached over and helped the blonde with his shirt.
"You're right, well Gaara's a catch may the best suitor win" He giggled "We'll get them all into Singles Inferno or something"
Sasuke laughed pulling the blonde in for a hug "I've shared you around plenty tonight, I only want to hear my name fall off your lips now"
"Hmmm" Naruto muttered softly burying his face in the crook of Sasuke's neck, the raven pushed the blonde back on the bed only to see his eyes flutter closed.
Sasuke shook his head amused, turned off the light and pulled the sheets over the blonde pulling him close "I love you" he whispered softly before he closed his own eyes and buried his face in Naruto's blonde hair.
Naruto had so much fun in Beijing, he'd never experienced anything like it, never thought he'd be able to experience something like it. The week went by so quickly, and not one second of it had been boring. When Sasuke was away at work he'd gotten to browse all sorts of food carts and stores, he'd found some gorgeous views and sat and read his book. He'd never had so much downtime before, never had the opportunity to be so fully relaxed.
Then in the evenings Sasuke would take him out to dinner or to experience the nightlife around Beijing. Sasuke kept getting calls to join his uncles and cousins at bars or for dinner, to bring Naruto, but something must have happened because the raven kept saying no. Naruto didn't want to question it, he himself wasn't so sure he was ready…
This was their last night in the city and Naruto looked at himself in the mirror blushing. He was wearing tailored dark navy blue pants and a white fitted button-up. The suit had been delivered to the room earlier that day with a note.
Let me take you on one last date before we leave? -S
Sasuke walked up behind him in black slacks and a deep navy blue button-up, circling his arms around the blonde's waist "You look stunning love"
Naruto turned around in the raven's arms "Me? You look like a supermodel" he said with a small blush.
"You ready?" The blonde nodded. Their whole stay in Beijing There had been no sneaking around, no trying to leave through back alleys or side streets. If they were going out, Sasuke walked out with Naruto through the front entrance, holding his hand, head held high as reporters snapped their pictures.
"Sasuke, where are you two going"
"Naruto, did you quit your job?"
"What has been your favorite part of this trip?"
"You look so different without the scrubs!"
At that last comment, the raven's hand slipped from Naruto's own and slid through the blonde's waist pulling him closer and Naruto thought he would faint when he leaned down to place a kiss on his cheek. The reporters collectively lost their shit as the camera's clicked away.
Sasuke slid in next to the blonde in the car and held in the urge to laugh when he turned to the side to see the blonde leaning over and burying his face in his knees.
"What?" he asked
Naruto sat back, the blush permanently settled on his face, even in the pictures published with Neji who Sasuke had actually been dating there were no pictures of Sasuke kissing him. The pictures of Sasuke walking Haku over to restaurants or events portrayed the raven's hand on the brunette's upper waist.
When they were in public, Sasuke's hand always fell on his lower waist and pulled him close. The raven was overprotective and assertive…and just now he'd made a show of it, he'd made his favorite claim.
Mine
Sasuke had never treated anyone the way he treated him, which is why Naruto couldn't have seen the difference when the pictures of Sasuke with Haku were being printed.
If you believed Sasuke to be a more withdrawn lover, if you wanted to believe he'd like to leave most of the story to the imagination, you would think he might be interested in Haku. But that wasn't Sasuke at all…at least not with him, Sasuke was possessive, he wanted people to know he was dating Naruto and he wasn't the least bit apologetic about it.
"I love you, so much," Naruto said at last, as he leaned over to kiss the raven softly on the lips. He hadn't known…but he did now. If there had been any doubt at all it was gone. Haku might be stunning to look at, but...
Naruto knew without a doubt that Sasuke loved him, he wanted him.
I know...I know...I can't believe I did that to my sweetest darling Itachi T.T but now we can all fight for his love! As Naru said, may the best suitor win x)...but aren't Sasuke and Naruto just adorbs?
Also as you might be able to tell our lovers are doing fairly well so...you should start preparing yourselves...there is one more thing I'd really like to incorporate before I wrap this up...you all know what it is?
I think we got about four more chapters to go unless I have a sudden epiphany or find myself needing to incorporate something else~ Ook obviously I've ranted more than enough for one day
can't wait to hear your thoughts, till next time my darlings,
Chio~
