. G r a v i t y .
By Hitokiri-Kitsune
A/N: Here we are again! I'm actually updating. Sorry this took so terribly long, I've been working on some other fics, and school is taking up a lot of my time. You guys must think me a horrid person...x.x; But, enough excuses! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys make me feel so great. X3 I was grinning like a moron for days. But, right. Onto the disclaimer!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything. You should know better! ;
Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto "G r a v i t y" © Hitokiri-Kitsune
Italics Thoughts
. C h a p t e r 2 .
The sun shone brightly on Konoha, causing the dampened streets to glisten as though there were diamonds scattered along the roads. Only thin clouds were left in the heavens above, drifting lazily along. Sitting at the popular Ichiraku Ramen Bar was none other than the infamous vulpine boy, Uzumaki Naruto. To many people's bewilderment, in place of the usual mischievous grin was a discouraged frown. What had caused the fox boy to be so unhappy? To answer this question, we'll go back to only moments before.
The day had begun with a slightly overcast sky, the training fields wet with rainwater. Still, though, Naruto had gone to the secluded field and trained until he could no longer walk without a slight staggering motion. Once completely sure that he could go no more, he leaned against a tall tree trunk, panting. "I'll...have...to...do...better...tomorrow!" he breathed out to himself, grinning proudly.
Grumble, grumble. "What was...?" A low growling sound prompted the blonde genin to think for a minute. When was the last time he had eaten? He clutched his stomach. "Hungry..." he muttered, pouting slightly. With hopes of food in his heart, he sprinted across the drenched grass, not pausing until he was so close to the Ramen Bar that he could smell it. He breathed in the heavenly scent; was that beef? Or maybe it was chicken. Nearly drooling, he reached into his pocket and retrieved his wallet. Prying it open just a bit, he peered inside.
"NOTHING?" he screeched, alarming those who had been indolently walking to and fro. This SUCKS! How am I supposed to get ramen if I have no money? he thought, shoving the empty wallet roughly back into his pocket. Maybe, he thought, Iruka-sensei will be there! He'll buy me ramen! And so, with optimism, he dashed to the Ramen Bar. Upon arriving there, he found a minor flaw in his plan to get the much-wanted food.
No Iruka.
And so, we return to the despondent teen, who had decided to rest his head on the table and sigh every now and then. So...hungry... he thought. A deep grumble confirmed this, and he let out a groan of despair. He felt someone sit next to him. Thinking it was the chocolate-eyed chûnin, he looked up, smiling brightly. Upon seeing it wasn't his former teacher, but Sasuke, his smile diminished, and he let his head drop back onto the counter with a dull thud. "Hey, Naruto..." The said fox boy glanced up at him; was he talking to him? Where was the customary 'dead-last' in that sentence?
Strange. Very strange.
"Hey...Sasuke..." Naruto replied after a long pause, glancing at him warily. He noticed the raven-haired teen twitch slightly, and listened as he continued. "Say...uh...you hungry?" the young Uchiha asked, his voice a bit strained. The vulpine boy nearly fell out of his chair in shock; this was Sasuke! And he was asking him, out of all people, if he was hungry? I kinda am though...But that's beside the point! What the hell is going on here? He straightened up, turning his head to look at the dark-eyed teen beside him.
"Yeah..." he said slowly. "What flavor do you want?" the raven-haired teen asked flatly. "I...er...chicken," the fox boy replied, quite flustered. "He'll have chicken, and I'll take beef," Sasuke said to the cook, who nodded and began preparing the said food. Naruto blinked at him; this wasn't normal. "Sasuke...You feeling okay?" the fox boy asked, staring. The raven-haired teen sighed; this was going to be hell. The Uchiha boy sighed inwardly; he could just imagine what being around the hyperactive genin would do to him. It made him want to scream.
Meanwhile, Naruto had received his bowl of ramen and was currently wolfing it down, eating as if he hadn't seen food in months. In about five minutes, he finished the large bowl, and was nibbling absentmindedly on a chopstick. Sasuke blinked; he wondered if the fox boy had even stopped to chew. "Ahh...Thanks, Sasuke," the blonde genin said, giving his teammate a toothy grin.
"Don't mention it," the young Uchiha replied monotonously. "If you don't mind me asking though," the fox boy continued, "why did you treat me to ramen?" A hush fell over the entire Ramen Bar. Six heads turned to look at the two boys; weren't they the new couple Sakura had told them about? Quiet whispers rose up; those were the two boys. Small bits of conversations could be heard.
"...Kawaii..."
"...Like night and day..."
"...Hot, kinky..."
"...I'd pay to see them..."
Shit, the raven-haired teen thought, thinking desperately of a way out of this. Sakura and her big mouth! After setting the money for the ramen on the counter, he hastily grabbed Naruto's wrist and pulled him away. "I have to talk to you," he mumbled, just loud enough for the fox boy to hear. "B-But..." the blonde began to protest, but was dragged off and out of sight. This, of course, made the villagers surer that they were together. 'They must be off to have some time alone,' they thought, nodding to one another, and they simply refused to believe otherwise.
"Where can we go...?"
"We can go to my house..."
Sasuke blinked; he hadn't known he'd voiced his musings. "Alright. It's this way, right?" he asked, glancing back at the confused blonde. "Yeah, you're going the right way," the fox boy replied quietly, thinking about what he could possibly be so desperate to tell him. What would be so important, he thought, that he'd actually act nervous? He felt anxious to the point of nausea. It can't be good... He didn't know just how right he was.
A little later, they arrived at the small apartment door. Fishing around in his pocket for his keys, the blonde attempted to start a conversation. "So...Sasuke," he said, trying not to sound as tense as he did. "Where were you today? Sakura-chan and I didn't see you around." Silence met him as he retrieved the keys and unlocked the door, than followed him into the apartment.
The Uchiha heir looked around curiously; he had never been inside of the blonde's house before. Unlike what he had previously imagined, it wasn't a hazardous war zone of dirty laundry and discarded ramen cups. In fact, it seemed pretty average, besides the fact that it was a bit empty.
"...Suke...?"
He wondered if this was even the right place. It didn't fit Naruto's personality. It should be hectic, dirty, or at least a little messy! It almost looked as if no one lived here! Something was wrong about it―
"EARTH TO SASUKE."
He snapped out of his trance, blinking. "What now?" he said, sounding distracted. "I said, do you want anything?" the vulpine boy repeated, arching an eyebrow. "Um...N-No thanks," his teammate replied, seemingly attempting to regain his composure. "Oookay then..." Without another word, Naruto continued inside, taking a seat at a small table with two chairs.
"Take a seat." The raven-haired teen silently did just that, folding his hands in front of him and staring at them intently. "So...what did you want to talk about?" the cerulean-eyed boy before him asked quietly, placing his elbow atop the table and resting his chin in his hand.
"I...made a mistake."
Completely quiet.
"A really, really big mistake."
Nothing.
"Y-You're gonna think this is funny...Heh..."
Silence-y silence.
"I...sort of...implied that..."
Sasuke's head throbbed slightly, as he thought of exactly how to say what he needed to. He noticed that the normally talkative teen was completely silent. That, he decided, was worse than when he did speak. It meant that this was more serious than he thought it was.
"That...We were..."
Not a single word.
"...Dating."
The final word seemed to echo throughout the fox boy's home. After several moments of complete stillness, the blonde broke the deafening hush that had fallen upon the two. "So what you're saying," he said softly, "is that you said that me and you were dating." The onyx-eyed boy was taken aback; there was no underlying tone of anger, disgust, or surprise. In fact, if Sasuke didn't know better, he would think that the questioning voice had come from himself, had it not sounded so differently. "Hai," he replied, his voice just above a whisper. Naturally, he was not expecting what he heard next.
It started out low, a nervous chuckle, but now it was full-blown laughter. The hyperactive teen clutched the table in an attempt to steady himself as his sky-hued eyes glinted with mirth. Had the darker boy not had any experience with hiding his emotions, his jaw would have been hanging open. "And what the hell is so funny, dobe?" he shouted despite his better judgment. "Y-You," the vulpine boy choked out, snickering loudly. "You said me and you were dating. As in me being your...your...boyfriend."
It took about seven minutes for him to calm down and stop laughing. Even so, occasional giggles escaped the blonde, making Sasuke more irate than he had been at the ramen stand. "How is that funny?" he practically screamed, a vein popping out of his forehead. "You don't see it?" the fox boy asked, still looking thoroughly amused. "No, I don't. Enlighten me," the other growled, glaring daggers.
"Well, come on Sasuke, we all knew that you're gay," Naruto said nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair. He was then forced to evade a roughly thrown shuriken from his teammate. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, SASUKE-TEME?" he shouted, giving the Uchiha an angered look. "I. Am. Not. Gay!" said teen spat, deadly serious.
"You don't have to lie."
"I'll kill you."
"Sheesh, someone's touchy. Sorry, Mr. I'm-In-Denial."
"Naruto...Ever wondered what it's like to be strangled to death?"
"Hehe...Anou...Okay, you're not gay."
"Thank you."
After that, they sat stock still, staring anxiously at one another. A pin could have been heard dropping in the small, empty apartment, and it surely could have echoed for quite a time after that. It was finally Naruto who broke the tense stillness that had settled between them. "Well...What're you gonna do about it?" he inquired, shifting awkwardly in his seat. "I...don't really know," the other admitted, turning his piercing gaze away. Shadowed orbs darted desperately in that space, looking for something to concentrate on. Finally he found it: a simple picture on the wall, set into a silver frame.
In the photo, Naruto was sitting happily with Iruka on a park bench, their arms around each other's shoulders. Both had stunningly wide smiles, although, upon further inspection, the Uchiha heir noticed something odd about Naruto's carefree grin. It really wasn't all that carefree, and held some lingering feeling of loneliness in it. It was almost as if it had been forced; his eyes, slightly dulled, only added to his suspicion. Even now, he knew, the fox boy's unsure smile was a bit strained, as though he were saying, 'Don't worry, I'm fine, I'm happy. Don't worry.'
It troubled him for some reason.
It was because of this that Sasuke conquered his fear and forced himself to look back at the vulpine boy, trying desperately not to look down, but to look at him. "Well...I can't do much," he heard himself saying. "But, I know that now the whole town thinks that we're together." Naruto fidgeted again, laughing nervously. "S-So does that mean the whole town thinks that I'm gay too?" he asked, azure eyes huge with realization.
Sometimes he couldn't believe how stupid his teammate was.
"Yes, Naruto-baka!"
"HEY! THIS IS YOUR DAMNED FAULT, ASSHOLE!"
"Naruto...God, you make my head hurt..."
"WELL GOOD! You deserve it, 'cause you're a mean, lying, selfish, stuck-up, stupid, bas―"
The blonde paused in his ramble of insults to gasp loudly. "That means Sakura-chan won't like me anymore!" he wailed, dramatic tears filling his eyes. "What? She never liked you!" the raven-haired teen shouted over the sobs. "SHE DID SO! She was just hiding it, 'cause I'm so damned sexy it's intimidating!" the fox boy argued, pouting stubbornly. "Fine, whatever. She was hiding some freaky love obsession and you're the sexiest ever. HAPPY? CAN YOU SHUT UP NOW?"
The vulpine boy paused in his string of whines to blink at the pale boy. "Did you just call me sexy?" he asked, snickering loudly. "DEAR GOD." Sasuke decided he couldn't take this; if he stayed between the four empty walls, and in the basic chair, he would completely loose his mind, and most likely murder the blonde. And it wouldn't be pretty. Standing suddenly, he whirled around and began the walk towards the door.
"I'm out of here. You're going to drive me to kill."
"You're just mad 'cause you love me."
"YOU'RE INSANE. I'M LEAVING."
"Okay. Bye, Sasuke!"
Without another word, the Uchiha ripped the door open (and almost off its hinges) and strode out heatedly. He made a point to slam the door behind him, making the walls tremble. "Why that idiot?" he screamed as he stormed away from the apartment complex, face contorted with anger. "ARGH!" His obsidian eyes shot up towards the sky, narrowed in annoyance. "WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?" he cried, ignoring the odd stares he got because of this. And as if the heavens answered...
It rained.
Again.
And so, with his head hung and his dark bangs clinging to his face, he continued on his way, cursing everything that was Naruto.
End Chapter Two
FINALLY I UPDATED. HOLY SHIYIT.
Well, I'm all done now. If I update again, will you love me more? -silence- FINE! DON'T LOVE ME! -stomps off like Sasuke- -gets rained on- ...Nice. -dies-
Reviews make me happy. Review. NOW! -rawr-
Hitokiri-Kitsune