Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto. If I did, there would definitely be some yaoi in
the works, and please do not sue me. I do not even have a job, so it
wouldn't be my fault if you wasted all your money on lawyers, only to
get zip outta me in the end.
Rated NC-17 - for later chapters
Chapter 2
Sasuke was decidedly way past tired when he reached the Konoha gates. He wanted nothing more than to go home and immediately fall onto his bed. A Naruto body pillow would make it even better, but Sasuke would have to make due with what he had.
Finally reaching the front door, he paused to pick up the mail. No doubt Naruto had let the bills slip again while he was away. Not that it was a big deal; it was just another one of those quirks he happened to love about Naruto. Sure it could get damn annoying, but it was what made Naruto, Naruto.
Deactivating the traps, Sasuke slid his key in the lock, looking at the letter on top of the pile of late notices. His brow furrowed in blatant confusion.
"Konoha City Hall? What the hell kinda prank did Naruto pull? I thought he was outta that phase," he murmured aloud to himself. Grabbing his kunai he slit open the letter and began satisfying his curiosity. Suddenly he found himself wishing he'd taken the advice of 'curiosity killed the cat.
The letter and the rest of the mail fell to a jumbled pile on the floor, his hands still in midair and eyes widening from shock. Then the reality of it set in, and all he felt was anger. Someone had to die.
"Who the hell makes up laws like this!" Sasuke could only think of the horrible things that could come from this. He needed to see the Hokage, now.
Picking up the letter, he stuffed it in a pocket and raced to the Hokage's office. His mind was pacing, all the while thinking of how this could end in Naruto never wanting to see or be near him again. Sasuke's heart would break completely at having to lose another loved one. He clutched at his chest as he leapt and bound over the rooftops at anbu speed. He wanted to kill someone, namely Tsunade for even allowing it to happen.
Sasuke walked up to the door to Tsunade's office, tossing the anbu guards aside with ease. Swinging the door open he barreled over to Tsunade's desk, slamming his fists down upon it, rattling everything.
Tsunade knew what the Uchiha was here for, and was already prepared for it. She would've never have okayed the contents of the letter if she didn't have something up her sleeve to get the overdramatic Uchiha to accept it.
Sasuke spun around grabbing his hair, balling his fists in anger and frustration. No one had ever seen the Uchiha lose his cool this way.
"You!" Sasuke whirled around and pointed a finger at Tsunade. "How the hell do you justify this! Dammit! What the hell are you thinking!" Sasuke began pacing back and forth in front of Tsunade's desk. "Sasuke, sit down before you wear a trail in my floor. Now."
Sasuke
ignored her and kept pacing. "SIT!" Tsunade's voice boomed
so loud the anbu outside the door cringed. Sasuke seemed not to take
much notice but sat down regardless.
"Now, I was thinking
that I know of your affections for my successor and if the law could
help you two out, then it would be done. Really, Sasuke, you should
be thanking me," Tsunade shot a lecherous grin at Sasuke.
"Thanking you! Wait- how do you know that?" He could have sworn he had kept his affection buried deep within, making it something that only he should know.
"Just consider it a personal conquest of mine to know my people," she could never tell him that it was actually Kakashi who had first discovered Sasuke's feelings towards Naruto. Or, how he had been drunk and blurted it out not only to her, but practically every other chunnin and jounin at the party. He also blurted out his own feelings for Iruka, whom thank the gods for Kakashi wasn't at that particular party, but found out the next day from every person who walked into the mission room.
Sasuke blanched at Tsunade's words. They were his own when it came to figuring out everything about his kitsune . . .
Head in his hands Sasuke could think of only one thing to do.
"Fuck!" he whispered. "I won't, can't tell him about this, or anything else for that matter. If he found out about any of it, I could lose him," Sasuke said looking up at Tsunade through his disheveled hair.
"Or, you could, and Naruto would never have to find out how that fire was started at your home, or how the Fourth received a large lump sum in his back account the next day," she clasped her hand in front of her giving Sasuke an all too innocent grin.
"Shit!" She knew. She knew too much. How could she have known he had burned his own home to the ground? The memories and whispers of what had happened there growing to much for him to bear anymore, and afterwards he had given the Hokage a large sum to order him to live with Naruto, under the guise that it would bring them closer as teammates.
For Sasuke, it had, but he doubted it had the same affect on Naruto. Naruto seemed to think of him in the same way he always had. Nothing changing.
"Now, you look extremely tired Sasuke." What Tsunade said was an understatement. Sasuke looked like death itself. Face pale, cheeks drawn, and his eyes, usually filled with his normal cold emotion, were lifeless.
"I order you to go home and get some sleep," she was shooing him out the door before he could argue anymore. "Oh, yeah. Enjoy your honeymoon!" she said in a sing-song voice, waving goodbye to him with a smile of innocence plastered on her face.
Sasuke's pale face turned a bright red at Tsunade's last statement. He was going to kill her! There was no way Sasuke was going to be able to follow Tsunade's orders. How was he supposed to sleep with all this new information buzzing around in his head? Not to mention the fact that he now had to tell Naruto that they were, by common law, married.
Married.
He and Naruto were married.
Sasuke himself couldn't be happier. To have Naruto as his spouse. It was like a claim that screamed Uchiha property, violators will be brought down without mercy. He knew Naruto wouldn't feel the same. He would run.
Sasuke walked slowly back to the apartment, head hanging low. He kicked at a pebble, imagining it was Tsunade's head. Watching it arch in the air, he saw it land in Kakashi's outstretched hand.
His gaze of course was not on the stone but firmly planted in his orange Icha Icha Paradise novel. Sasuke was contented to leave him and his novel well alone, but Kakashi obliviously had other ideas as he began walking side by side with Sasuke, their footsteps matching up perfectly.
"So,"
Kakashi started, never taking his nose out of his book. "Have
you told him yet"
Sasuke's footsteps faltered slightly at
Kakashi's question. Did everyone know!
"No."
"Why not?" Kakashi asked him, flipping a page.
"I would think that would be obvious. Especially for someone like you." Sasuke kept his head low, not wanting to draw any attention from the girls on either side of him. The last thing he wanted was for his fan girls to attach themselves to him like leeches. He was in a killing mood, and didn't know how long he would be able to hold himself back from destroying the squealing parasites should it happen.
"Nonsense, Sasuke. Look underneath the underneath," he stated his famous quote for the hundredth time in the Uchiha's life.
"There is nothing underneath anything with Naruto (sadly not myself either, he thought). What you see is what you get," he said calmly.
"And here I thought you were a genius, Sasuke. Am I going to have to spell it out for you?" he finally took his nose out of his book to glare at him with his one blue eye. Kakashi wasn't one to go around telling people what they should already know, but he understood Sasuke's plight better than what he thought. He had gone through similar things with Iruka, and he knew if he had a difficult time, Sasuke must be going through the ninth ring of hell.
"Please, enlighten me sensei."
"Why, first off, are you afraid to tell him?"
Sasuke paled at the thought of telling Naruto. He could see the boy fleeing from him, never wanting anything to do with him again.
"I'm afraid if I tell him-" Sasuke stopped and began wondering why he was telling Kakashi all this. It really wasn't any of his business, but if he could help him solve some of his problems he might as well tell him everything.
"-He'll never want to see me again. Not to mention the fact that I don't even know if his sexual preferences would lie in my direction and I just don't think that I could handle that." He ran his hand through his hair.
Kakashi knew how Sasuke felt. He and Iruka had just gotten together, but if Iruka were to leave, he didn't think he would be able to handle it either. He knew ninja were supposed to be without feeling, but love was the only feeling he knew people couldn't live without. No matter who they are.
"You do know what happened that day on the bridge right? After you passed out?" Kakashi questioned.
"We never talked about it"
"Mind if I fill you in"
"Not at all. I've been wanting to ask Naruto ever since it happened, but he never brought it up, so I left it alone"
"Very well then. It seems that after Naruto had thought you had died, he lost it. Completely. That was the first time he unleashed the chakra of his inner fox demon," Kakashi stopped talking, allowing his words to soak in.
Sasuke could hardly believe it. Why had Naruto lost his control?
"He would have killed Haku that day, if the boy hadn't decided to use his death to save his most precious person"
"Zabuza?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes. Naruto was on his way to kill Haku, who wasn't going to stop him, before Haku same to save Zabuza from my attack."
"You killed Haku?"
"Yes, but the real question here is why on earth was Naruto ready and willing to kill Haku?"
"To avenge me I would assume," Sasuke replied.
"Ahh, but don't you usually have to truly care for a person in order to want to avenge them?" Kakashi's finger waggled in the air pointedly.
The realization of Kakashi's words sank into Sasuke like fresh rain on dry earth. It was refreshing. He might just have a chance, a small one, but it was still there, and for Naruto, Sasuke was willing to take it.
"Also, I don't know about you, but if I truly detested a person as Naruto claims with you, I don't think I would keep allowing them to live under my roof any longer than necessary. Or chase after them and drag them back, only to let them live in my apartment again after they left my village with Orochimaru. You wouldn't either, unless you truly cared for the person, would you?" Kakashi stuck his nose back in his book and picked up his pace, leaving Sasuke behind to think on his words.
Kakashi had just given him another small chance, another shred of hope, and he was taking it. He quite honestly didn't know how he had lived so long with Naruto and never let his feelings known. Right now he thought he would implode if he didn't tell Naruto how he felt. How he truly felt.
Sasuke sat in the living room, head in his hands. He was nervous as all hell, but he knew if he didn't tell Naruto, he would go crazy. At the moment he needed to know if Naruto felt anything at all for him. He would rather go through life knowing than to live life always wondering if he would've ever had a chance.
A chance to hold him close. Close enough to breathe him in, feel his heartbeat. Close enough to run his fingers through his unruly, blond locks, caress the back of his neck, and pull him in for a ki-
"Uugh!" Sasuke cut his thoughts short. He normally would let them run on. They were the only way he got to be with Naruto. Plus he had no other options in the way of relieving his feelings.
Right now though, he needed to be in as much control of himself as possible if he was going to tell Naruto anything.
Head still in his hands, Sasuke began to feel weary. He had not slept in four days and after all the physical and mental stress; he was feeling a little worse for wear. It was out of his control when he fell asleep in the rather uncomfortable position. He dreamed of his kitsune, only to wake up to the sounds of him moving around in the kitchen.
Sitting up, a spasm in his neck caused him to moan out loud in pain. He rapidly began blinking his eyes, rubbing his throbbing neck, trying to wake himself up to tell Naruto something that might make them or break them.
When he had finally admitted to himself long ago that he loved Naruto, he was afraid. Afraid the same thing would happen to Naruto that had happened to everyone else that he had loved. He went crazy with the thought of it. It was right around the time when Orochimaru was offering him power. Power that Sasuke wanted only to use in protection of his kitsune. He would've been damned if he let anyone lay a finger on him. Sasuke only hoped Naruto would take the news better than he had.
"Naruto. We need to talk."
R/R
