Chapter 7

Posted Jan 6th, 2022


Sasuke wakes up at dawn with a massive headache. He rubs at his forehead and temples but finds no relief. And when the young Uchiha tries to get up, he finds that sleeping for hours with his head leaning back against the back of the couch results in a massive kink in the neck. Sasuke growls and stumbles to the bathroom where he downs some painkillers and looks at himself in the mirror. He looks rough and pale. There is lipstick on the collar of his shirt. Fingers press against his lips just to find them sensitive to pressure and still a little numb from kissing hard. He undresses and gets under the shower. The warm water somewhat helps in relaxing his neck.

When Sasuke gets out of the shower, he hears soft noise coming from the kitchen. He knows he should probably be alarmed but his hangover is still strong. He realizes with annoyance that it's probably Itachi. Sasuke dries his hair and puts on fresh sweatpants and a t-shirt. The clean, cool cotton fabric against his warm skin gives Sasuke some sense of comfort. He goes into the kitchen only to find Itachi preparing breakfast. As annoyed as Sasuke is, his stomach rumbles at the smell of fresh food.

"Little brother. Good morning. Did you get a chance to rest?"

Itachi's tone is way too upbeat and he's talking way too loudly. Sasuke rubs at his temples again and tries to ignore the ringing of the spoon hitting the walls of the cup as Itachi mixes something for Sasuke.

"Here," Itachi pushes a cup toward Sasuke, "Drink this. It'll help with your head."

Normally, Sasuke would question the substance or at least be stubborn about following Itachi's advice for a bit but has no strength now. He gulps the cold liquid and although it's too sweet for his taste, it gives him relief shortly.

Itachi serves up breakfast and they eat in silence. Sasuke wouldn't say it out loud but he is grateful for Itachi's help, this morning and last night. He didn't know what had gotten into him getting shitfaced like that, especially in front of all the important people of his university and professional field. Sasuke hopes nobody had noticed him stumbling around drunk and didn't want to think what would have happened had Itachi not stopped him and taken him home. Sasuke's feelings were all off-balance and he felt even more confused than he was before going to the gala.

A single phone buzz takes Sasuke out of his thoughts.

Sasuke gets up, walking barefoot, and finds his phone lying facedown next to the couch. It must have slipped out of his pocket. He unlocks it only to find a bunch of missed calls and texts from his classmates, especially Suigetsu. Sasuke just lets them know he's home safe and sits back at the counter to sip his tea. Itachi is sitting on the other side, sipping some tea as well, reading the news on his phone. When Sasuke returns, Itachi looks up and focuses on him.

"So? How do you feel?"

"Like crap. But a little better."

"Glad I was able to help my little brother."

"Was it obvious? Did anyone notice me like that?"

"I don't know. I was keeping an eye on you, but then you just disappeared. I found you bumping people through the crowd. Where were you headed?"

Itachi waits for an answer, but Sasuke can't possibly answer – he remembers he was looking for Naruto but had no idea what he was going to do once he found her. Itachi truly seems concerned.

"Sasuke. You looked like you were having fun one moment and the next I find you alone and drunk off your ass. What is going on?"

Sasuke feels compelled to tell Itachi everything then – how he is confused, how he's been struggling with this rush of new and unknown feelings over a girl he barely knew and who might be seriously involved with another guy. But then Itachi asks, "Is it because of Naruto-chan?" and Sasuke feels a sudden urge to withdraw from his brother.

"Seriously? You ask me so casually when all this mess last night was because of you?"

"What are you saying, little brother?"

Sasuke stands up. "I am saying that I'm tired of your bullshit. You pretended that she was your date just to mess with me and set me off."

"Hardly. I just wanted to spur you into action."

"By making me jealous on purpose?"

Suddenly, Sasuke feels naked and emotionally exposed. Admitting out loud to being jealous is a huge impact on Sasuke and makes him feel insanely vulnerable. So, he shuts down.

"It seemed to work. It seemed like you two had talked it out and were getting along in the library."

"Just- Just stop. God." Sasuke turns around to walk to his bedroom. "See yourself out."

Sasuke feels guilty for snapping at his brother, especially after his help. But being poked at offset him. Being emotionally vulnerable didn't come to Sasuke easily and he felt Itachi hadn't respected his boundaries. He didn't know if he would have pulled Naruto away if it wasn't for the sudden fit of jealousy, but they hadn't made any progress at all as it was. If anything, the whole thing had gotten even more confusing for Sasuke.

Sasuke lays on the bed and stares up at the ceiling. He hears the soft sounds of Itachi cleaning up and then the soft click of the door as it closes. Sasuke turns over on his side, the pillow is soft against his face. He feels guilty for snapping at Itachi but deep down he knows Itachi understood and somehow, in a twisted way, he did what he did because he cares for him.


The night before at the gala

Naruto comes out of the library and makes a beeline to the lady's room. She looks at herself in the mirror, fixes up her dress and hair. She cleans smudged lipstick from around her mouth with a tissue and reapplies lipstick. Just then, a girl with pink hair and a green dress walks in the bathroom. She makes eye contact with Naruto in the mirror and recognition flickers in her eyes.

"Hey, you were one of our mock patients, weren't you?" She comes closer.

Naruto looks at her in the mirror, rubs her lips together to spread the lipstick. Then, she smiles. "Yes, I was! Was the name… Sarada?"

"Sakura. And wow. You look bomb, LOVE your dress."

Naruto turns around. She gives Sakura a bright smile - a wave of warmth and charisma comes over Sakura.

"Sakura, right. I'm Naruto. And thank you, you look bomb too girl, that dress really goes well with your eyes."

It takes a few moments for Sakura to find her words again. "Are the rest of the actors also here?"

"No. I was invited. I liked you guys too much and decided to come see you again."

They make some small talk and Naruto leaves. Sakura remains pleasantly charmed by the blonde. She decides to look for her outside and propose to exchange numbers and be friends. She goes outside and looks around. Sakura sees Sasuke instead – it still hurts from how coldly he had rejected her. But still, the way he looked in that suit made Sakura's chest fill with new determination to approach him. She had noticed him since day one and had been watching him for months deliberating how to make him notice her and approach him. He is misunderstood and lonely, she decides, and thinks that she can fix him.

She sees him down two glasses of whiskey and thinks that is odd. He dives into the crowd and Sakura follows him. At a second glance, Sakura now notices how tense his shoulders are and the hard rhythm of his steps. When she gets a chance to glance at his face, she notices the scrunched up eyebrows and the dark eyes looking hazy but full of determination. What hits her hard though is the disheveled necktie and top of his shirt, the tux may be missing a button. For the first time, she sees his hair ruffled. Her stomach drops when she notices the faint traces of smudged lipstick around his lips and on his collar, the exact same shade she had seen the blonde reapply in the bathroom. Sakura stands frozen in the crowd without being able to take another step. She loses Sasuke out of sight.


"Dude, what happened to you the other day?" It's Monday and Sasuke is back at school. They have lectures and Suigetsu is leaning over his shoulder from the row above.

"Hn."

"Dude, don't "hn" me. We were worried about you – you disappeared and wouldn't answer your phone. Your third-year mentor saw us looking for you at last and said he saw you leaving with your brother. You could have at least said bye and not acted like an asshole."

Sasuke is supporting his chin with a hand, looking straight up and taking notes. He hears Suigetsu and while he does have a point, Sasuke does not want to be reminded of the gala. Still, something in him gives way at Suigetsu's concern.

"I wasn't feeling well. Itachi walked me home. I should have texted."

Suigetsu blinks at him. Then he smiles triumphantly, one sharp tooth sticking out. Finally, he leans back into his seat, twirling a pen between his fingers. "Damn. Didn't think you had it in ya."

Sasuke takes notes during the lecture. Something makes him think back to Suigetsu's words. The gala… them looking for him… Shikamaru telling them Sasuke left with Itachi.

Shikamaru.

Sasuke had seen the Nara being very familial with Naruto. Maybe he could answer his questions.

As soon as that thought enters Sasuke's mind, an alarm goes off in his head that he should probably stay away. That the situation is too confusing and he was getting nowhere in understanding the whole thing with the blonde. But Sasuke is an Uchiha and Uchihas get what they want. Sasuke is walking to his car when he looks up Shikamaru on social media. He finds him just on one platform, but his profile is completely locked. That won't do, Sasuke thinks.

Sasuke texts Shikamaru with the pretext of having questions about the upcoming finals. Shikamaru makes sure to let him know he's being a drag but agrees to meet with him later today for a bit.


"Are you sure that's how you finish the procedure?" Sasuke asks with feigned confusion over the material.

"Yes, I'm sure. Look at the instructional video." Shikamaru is sitting back in his chair observing Sasuke. The Nara watches the Uchiha and suspects he knows what is going on.

"As fun as this is, I have to ask. Why did you really call me here today?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean." Shika's voice is level as always, but Sasuke finds the Nara's eyes to be sharper than usual. "What are we doing here, Sasuke? We both know you have perfect command of the material. Your questions aren't genuine. What do you really want?"

Sasuke remains quiet. Pretending he doesn't understand Shikamaru's accusation is out of the question. Answering truthfully is also out of the question.

Shikamaru leans back in his seat.

"You know, your friends were pretty worried for you at the gala. They couldn't find you. I let them know I saw you leaving with your brother. You know, you looked a little rough when you left."

"Hn."

"You're a pretty composed guy. I wonder what could have shaken you enough to get plastered like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure. Meet anyone else you know at the gala?"

"I met a lot of people I know."

"Anyone special?" Shikamaru obviously has something particular in mind and Sasuke wishes the Nara was not as perceptive as he was. "You know, you seemed all normal and like you were having an okay time until I noticed you staring daggers at me when I was talking to Naruto."

Sasuke rubs the palms of his hands on his jeans. Being called out by Itachi was one thing. Being called out by a perceptive almost stranger was another thing.

"I thought I recognized her from the simulation portion of our clinicals. That's all."

"I don't believe you. There was way more in your eyes than a flicker of recognition. She's a very beautiful young woman, isn't she? You don't like her giving attention to other men."

"She said you're high school friends." The moment Sasuke says that, he knows he'd slipped. Shikamaru's sharp eyes gleam as he catches him.

"So you did talk."

"Briefly."

"Interesting." Shika is quiet for a while. "I don't owe you an explanation but I don't want to be the victim of Uchiha hatred and honestly, your brother looks terrifying. So I'll answer your question that I know you have – we really are friends from high school. She is a little younger and was a couple of grades under me, but she was close to my girlfriend and her brother. That's how I know her."

Sasuke waits for Shikamaru to continue, to tell him more about Naruto, who she is and what her life is like. But seeing as the Nara looks like he's finished talking, Sasuke realizes Shikamaru is not one to gossip. This makes Sasuke respect the other man even more.

Shika glances at his phone and gets up to leave. "I have to get home for dinner. Although this was entertaining, don't ever waste my time like that again. What a drag."


When Sasuke gets home, he should be studying but finds himself distracted by the conversation he'd had with Shikamaru. Something in him propels him to know more about Naruto. Since the Nara's profile is locked, he finds himself looking through Naruto's profile. Pictures of several years back reveal Naruto with Shikamaru and a girl with short pigtails. Shika has his arm around the other girl – it must be his girlfriend. Sasuke clicks on the tag and it takes him to the girl's profile. Temari Subaku. Subaku – isn't that-

Sasuke scrolls through Temari's pictures searching for what he already doesn't want to see. Then there he is – Temari with the redheaded man that seemed to be her brother. The Nara had said he knew Naruto through his girlfriend and her brother since high school… which meant this guy Gaara had been in Naruto's life probably since middle school, if not earlier. Something about that fact, about the confirmation of the two having shared a serious bond through the years, enrages Sasuke.

He keeps scrolling, years behind, and sees different pictures of Naruto and the redhead but again nothing concrete that would tell Sasuke their relationship is romantic which would in turn answer why she kept rejecting him after drawing him in. Uncertainty gnaws at Sasuke, his textbook lays forgotten. Sasuke wants answers.


"Clear up your schedule for Friday evening, I'm taking you somewhere," Itachi says, driving with Sasuke in the passenger seat. They are headed to the main office of Uchiha Corporation for a monthly meeting.

"No thank you," Sasuke answers nonchalantly, reading his textbook on his phone.

"It wasn't a question." Itachi parks and covers Sasuke's phone with his hand, making the younger Uchiha put the phone down and look at him. "You haven't been yourself lately. You seem very distracted. Come with me on Friday, I think it will settle some of your worries."

"Whatever." Sasuke knows there is no use in fighting it. Even if he declined, Itachi would show up at his place on Friday and demand they go. So it was better to be prepared, Sasuke decides as he exits the car and heads over to the lavish building. Itachi was probably going to take him somewhere to dinner and try to make him talk about his feelings. Again. Itachi had always been annoyingly observant and pushy, but lately he'd been especially annoying in Sasuke's eyes. He walks ahead and doesn't notice Itachi smiling behind him.


On Friday evening, Itachi picks Sasuke up and takes him to the theater. It takes Sasuke picking up a flyer for him to realize it's a play by Akatsuki. Naruto's name and image are also on the flyer. Sasuke slants an angry gaze at Itachi, again surprised that he is so easily read. Itachi avoids looking at his little brother on purpose, walking straight ahead. Why hadn't Sasuke found this information himself? With defeated bitterness, the younger Uchiha admits to himself he is not really mad at Itachi for intentionally crossing his way with Naruto.

They find their seats, quite close to the stage, Sasuke realizes. Sasuke pretends he's going to the bathroom before the show and heads backstage. Avoiding security and several halls down, he runs into Naruto. She is wearing a robe, her hair pulled back. She stops, startled when she sees Sasuke, and her eyebrows furrow in confusion and suspicion.

"Sasuke…what are you doing here?"

Sasuke is tempted to approach her again, to pull her away in one of the many empty rooms and press her against the wall, continue where they left off, but that hadn't proven to be productive at all. Sasuke doesn't say anything – he takes out his phone and goes to "add new contact". He hands the phone to Naruto and looks her in the eyes. She looks at the phone and then up at him – the implication is dead clear, better than Sasuke could have worded it. There's several moments of silence. Then Naruto takes the phone and inputs her number in. She hits save.


Sasuke goes back and sits back next to Itachi. Itachi slants an amused gaze at him, having noticed his brother's prolonged absence.

"You look quite pleased with yourself, little brother. Anything happen?"

"Hn."

"I see." Itachi smiles to himself, reading his little brother like an open book.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke turns around at the call of his name. Shikamaru is standing in the row behind him, looking from Sasuke to Itachi. A female with short messy hair is standing next to him, her hand in his. "Didn't know you were into theatre." The suspicion and accusation are not completely masked in Shikamaru's voice.

Before Sasuke can say anything, Itachi's got his back.

"Ah, Nara-san," Itachi stands up to shake hands with Shikamaru, a slightly menacing smile on his face. "Good to see you. My little brother tells me you are an excellent mentor, certainly very discrete and trustworthy, all qualities worthy of an outstanding residency candidate."

Shikamaru reluctantly shakes Itachi's hand and clearly reads the exact subtext of Itachi's words. He retracts a little bit and reluctantly introduces Temari. They exchange some pleasantries and Itachi is just so good at any social situation it is maddening.

"Pleasure meeting you. Now, if you'll excuse us, my brother and I would like to direct our attention to the show."


"Is Gaara coming or not?" Hidan asks impatiently waving at his face with the stack of paper the scenario for the play is printed on.

"He should be," Naruto answers as she looks at herself in the mirror.

Hidan gets up and leans over Naruto. "Maybe if he's late, I can play the lead role with you?" He gives her a seductive smile in the mirror. Naruto closes the mascara she'd been holding and pushes him away.

"He'll be here."


When everyone is seated and the lights turn off in preparation for the beginning, Sasuke throws a glance back at Shikamaru. He finds him whispering something quietly in Temari's ear, the woman's brows furrowed, and she nods.

The curtains open and the show starts. The play is actually pretty impressive. Sasuke leans up more in his seat when Naruto comes out on stage. The blonde is simply gorgeous in the leading role, so like the Naruto Sasuke knows but also so different. Sasuke feels he is meeting her all over again but with a warm sense of familiarity only the knowledge of how she tastes could bring him. New warm feelings bloom in his chest as he watches Naruto play, perform in her element, express her passion. She is elegant and airy, at the same time charismatic and warm. She is breathtakingly good, even more beautiful than Sasuke had ever seen her. She is definitely doing what she was born to do.

Sasuke is on edge when a very familiar red-headed man comes up on stage. With reluctance, Sasuke observes that Gaara is also a very good actor. The main event seems to be developing between Naruto's and Gaara's characters, but they haven't had much interaction yet.

Toward the end of the play, there is a scene that makes Sasuke grip the armrests until his knuckles are white and grit his teeth until his jaw goes numb. In the closing scene, Gaara strides toward Naruto, draws her in, and kisses Naruto passionately. The way Gaara is holding the blonde, the way their mouths move together, how comfortable they are with the proximity to each other, how the kiss progresses naturally as if they'd done this thousands of times, finally provides Sasuke with the answers he'd been looking for for weeks. Itachi glances at Sasuke in concern.

Sasuke has received his answer - Naruto and Gaara did have a romantic relationship, very possibly for a number of years. Sasuke feels a hole opening in his chest. He should have never dug that deep, he should have never allowed himself to wonder. Naruto was unobtainable and whatever she'd had with Sasuke must have been a mistake. Sasuke was an afterthought, maybe she was just bored and took amusement in playing with Sasuke to pass the time.


As the actors bow down, the audience applauds. Naruto subconsciously searches the public with her eyes. She finds Shikamaru and Temari, then Itachi. Sasuke is staring at her, his eyes cold and burning, and Naruto swallows. Something drops in her stomach and she is frozen in her spot.


After the final applaud, the actors go backstage. Naruto is undoing her costume, looking at the ground, something gnawing at her chest. Gaara comes in. She goes to say something but he wraps an arm around her waist and draws her lips to his. He'd been gone for a month and they'd definitely felt each other's absence. They'd been close since she was in middle school. Gaara had always been devoted to her to a fault. He had been her first in everything. When dating hadn't been enough for her, he had let her go as a romantic interest and allowed her to explore her interests. However, he had stayed at her side, supportive and patient.

"I want you."

"Later," she assures him and moves away from him. Something is stuck at the back of her throat. "I'll stay over tonight," she adds at his gaze.


Later that evening, as Naruto rides Gaara in the privacy of his apartment and he is deep inside her, she closes her eyes. She sees dark black orbs, burning with anger, madness and passion.


The brothers are quiet on the way back. Anger and anguish are bubbling in Sasuke's chest and he rubs at his forehead.

"I didn't know," Itachi says quietly, with a tinge of guilt and defeat in his voice. There is no reason for him explain what he means.

"It's fine." No it's not fine, Sasuke wants to say. "I knew. Just don't meddle when I ask you to stay away next time."

Itachi doesn't say anything. He is hurting for his brother. One would have to be blind to not have noticed how Naruto and Gaara kissed and what that comfort with proximity would mean. Itachi regretted putting his brother through watching that.

Sasuke gives Itachi a dry goodbye. Yet again, he finds himself lost and torn amidst the quietness of his apartment. He is angry with himself for wanting Naruto, and angry with her for leading him on. For making him seek her out only to reject him, to betray him. Sasuke closes his eyes but the only thing he can see is the two kissing and he can't find any rest. It's midnight when he goes to the gym and punches the boxing bag in anger until his hands go numb.