A/N: Sorry for the wait, as usual. Hope it doesn't bother you guys too, too much.
Disclaimer: K. Masashi sold me his soul, therefore, I now own Naruto! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Warning: OOCness
Iruka ran down the hospital corridor with Shikamaru in tow, the two of them headed for the waiting room. Iruka slammed through the doors of the private area reserved for firefighters and his eyes searched for a mesh of grey hair. All they'd heard down at headquarters was that a firefighter from Station Seven had died. No one had told them who.
Iruka let out a sigh as he spotted his lover and ran towards him, wrapping his arms around the older man without caring what anyone thought. He could've lost him, but he hadn't.
"Thank God." he whispered, closing his eyes. "Thank God, Kakashi."
The Captain didn't reply, which forced Iruka to pull back and stare at him. Kakashi's eyes were fixed on a cup of water he held in his hand, the liquid swirling around as he tipped the glass this way and that. Iruka frowned at his lack of response, turning to survey everyone else in the room.
Sasuke was still there, and Iruka found himself letting out a sigh of relief. Things would've been bad if Kakashi's almost-brother had been the one killed. The new guy was there, too. Kiba, Gaara, Genma, Raidou, Kotetsu and Izumo. Everyone was there, except—
Iruka winced and looked at the floor as he realized who was missing. Zabuza. He was a childhood friend of Kakashi's. If there was anyone other than Sasuke that couldn't ever die on Kakashi, it was Zabuza.
"Kakashi, I'm so sorry." Iruka whispered, hugging his lover again, even though he knew he would get no reaction. Tears squeezed themselves from his eyes and he felt himself trembling. He cursed his weakness, because Kakashi didn't need this right now. He needed Iruka to be there for him!
"What happened?" Shikamaru inquired, not concerning himself with the relationship Kakashi and Iruka seemed to have. It wasn't any of his business.
"We don't really know." Genma whispered. "We only heard him saying it was a flashover on the radio, and then a second before it occurred, Kakashi came flying out a side window. Zabuza was still inside. The Captain hasn't said a word since."
"It was the work of The Fan." Sasuke added, his hands clasped together in front of him, his elbows resting on his knees. Iruka noticed his knuckles were turning white because he was squeezing so hard. "The Fan took Zabuza away from us."
"Dammit!" Everyone but Kakashi jumped as Kiba kicked a nearby candy-machine. A few chocolate bars rattled free and fell into the slot, but he ignored them as he paced. "He's fucking with us! He starts off with bombs, and then goes to backdraft, and now flashovers?.!"
"Flashovers can't be set, they're a natural occurrence." Raidou insisted.
"It's still his fault!" Kiba hollered angrily. "He's the fucking reason there was a flashover! He set that goddamn fire!"
"Kiba, you're not helping." Kotetsu whispered, rubbing his eyes.
The brunette growled but stopped talking, continuing to pace. The room fell silent once more, nobody having anything to say.
Naruto felt awkward. He hadn't known Zabuza very well, and he was sad he was gone, but everyone else in the room was so crushed by it. For him to not feel as crushed as them made him feel bad, and he wanted to leave. Right now.
The doors slammed open once again, everyone turning to them. A very dishevelled Neji was standing in the doorway wearing his bunker gear, seemingly having just finished putting out a fire. He'd probably just heard the news about a firefighter at Station Seven having died.
"Naruto." he breathed, closing his eyes and slumping against the door.
The blond stood up, Gaara echoing his action, and the three of them exited the room, closing the door. "I'm sorry for just barging in here like this, but I had to be sure."
"It's okay." Naruto whispered. "I just don't think now's a good time."
"Can you call Temari and Kankurou?" Gaara asked the Hyuuga. "I want to stay with my Captain until the Battalion Chief comes in, but I don't want them to worry."
"Of course." Neji nodded to him before turning back to Naruto. He put one hand on the blond's shoulder. "I'm glad you're okay."
"I'm fine. I'll call you later."
"Okay." Naruto and Gaara turned back to the door, re-entering the room as Neji walked away. Now Naruto felt even more awkward as he retook his seat.
The door at the opposite end of the room opened and Tsunade Sannin walked in. She put her hand on Naruto's shoulder as she passed him, and stopped in front of Kakashi. He didn't acknowledge her.
Iruka removed his arm from around Kakashi, moving away feeling slightly embarrassed, but Tsunade didn't care about their relationship. Truth be told, she'd heard through the grapevines they were an item, and right now, Kakashi needed all the comfort he could get, so she casually motioned for the Arson Investigator to return to his previous position. He did so with no hesitation.
"Captain Hatake, can you tell me what happened?" she inquired.
Kakashi didn't answer. Honestly, she hadn't expected him to. She let out a sigh and straightened, having already asked the others what had happened. He was the only one who knew the full extent, but from the looks of things, he wasn't going to be talking any time soon.
"You're all being relieved for the week." Tsunade whispered. "Go home. Get some rest."
She turned to leave, stopping beside Naruto who was staring at the ground. She sighed and bent down, kissing his head before continuing on out of the room.
"I'm gonna go tell Zabuza's wife and his kid." Raidou sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Fuck, I hate my job."
Everyone began to stand so they could leave, Kakashi and Iruka staying put.
As Sasuke exited the room, he felt a hand fall onto his shoulder.
"Hey."
He didn't turn, knowing who it was based on the voice. He wasn't in the mood right now.
"I don't have time for you." he stated coldly.
"Listen—you and I are about the same size." Sasuke frowned at this and turned to regard the blond. He was avoiding his gaze, his blue eyes lowered. "You can borrow my uniform. I still have my Station Twelve one from a few years back that got too small. I can probably still fit into it decently enough." Sasuke stared at him for a few seconds before turning away, Naruto's hand still on his shoulder.
"Thanks." he whispered before shrugging the hand off and walking away.
Iruka cast a glance at Kakashi as he drove, the other man staring blankly out the window. It had taken the Arson Investigator close to ten minutes before he could get the Captain to move. He was driving them home, now. They needed quality time.
Shikamaru had told his supervisor he would return to headquarters and ask for Iruka to have a week's leave so he could spend some time with Kakashi. He offered to take on all the shifts Iruka was signed up for by himself. Chances were he'd be assigned a partner—probably Lee Rock.
The car ride home was done in silence, and Iruka was beginning to worry about Kakashi. The doctors had assured him the firefighter wasn't in shock, but the way Kakashi was acting was concerning the Arson Investigator. He'd even asked Hayate and Aoba to check him before he left, but they'd said the same thing. He wasn't in shock. He was upset.
Devastated is more like it, Iruka thought sadly, looking back at the road. It wouldn't do for him to get them both killed. Kakashi had a close enough call tonight.
Iruka glanced at the time, noting it was almost two in the morning. Their shift wasn't even half-done yet.
The Arson Investigator's grip tightened on the steering wheel as he gritted his teeth angrily. What kind of sick person targeted people who were trying to help this world? Firefighters were good people, they risked their lives for others, yet this asshole The Fan was killing them. Zabuza hadn't been the first, he'd only been the first from Station Seven.
Iruka turned smoothly, the car going up the small hill that was their driveway before he stopped the car and turned off the engine. He climbed out and walked around the car, opening Kakashi's door and bending down.
"Kakashi? We're home." he said in a low, soothing voice. When he got no response, he rubbed Kakashi's arm a bit. "Come on, 'Kashi. Let's go inside. I'll make you a bite to eat."
Kakashi was still for a few seconds, and then it seemed like his brain reconnected with the rest of him because he slowly shifted and put his feet down on the ground, standing with Iruka's help.
The smaller man kicked the car door shut before walking towards their front door, unlocking and opening it. Once they were inside, Kakashi pulled away from him and headed for the stairs. Concerned, Iruka followed. He wanted to make sure Kakashi didn't do anything stupid.
The two of them climbed the stairs, Kakashi walking slowly, Iruka mirroring his steps. Once the Captain reached the second floor, he headed for their bedroom, his feet dragging on the floor. Iruka waited a few seconds at the top of the landing before following. When he got inside the room, he found Kakashi standing in the middle of it, staring at the floor. He walked up to him and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Hey." Kakashi turned his head slightly to look at Iruka. "Is there anything I can do?"
Without warning, Kakashi fell to his knees and began to sob into his hands. Iruka was so stunned it took him a few seconds to bend down and hug his lover. Kakashi hugged him back tightly, holding on to him for all he was worth.
"I couldn't save him!" he sobbed into Iruka's shoulder. "God help me, I couldn't do anything!"
"It's not your fault. It's not your fault." Iruka whispered as he gently rocked Kakashi.
"He saved me! God, he threw me out that window and let himself die! We should've died together! We should've been together until the end, just like we always were back in school!"
"It's not your fault." Iruka continued to whisper.
When Sasuke came by an hour later, Kakashi and Iruka were still huddled together on the floor, Kakashi insisting it was all his fault.
Sasuke cut the engine to his Camaro and opened his door, exiting the sleek car. He reached up and removed his sunglasses, hanging them on the collar of his shirt as he made his way to the front door of the house before him. Two steps, and then he was in front of the door. He rapped on it, then waited. When no one answered, he knocked again. Is he at work, maybe? Should I leave my key in his mailbox, or would that be a bad idea?
As the Uchiha stood pondering his next move, someone appeared around the side of the house wearing a frown on his face.
"Can I help you?" Sasuke turned and the figure snorted. "Oh, it's you."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto as the blond turned and began to head back the way he'd come. Based on the dirty jeans, gardening gloves and absence of a shirt, Sasuke assumed he'd been working in his backyard.
"Hey, dumbass, wait up." Sasuke jumped off the front porch and jogged after Naruto, the blond not stopping. "I came to give you the key to one of my houses. I hid your engine in the garage."
"Gee, thanks." Naruto said as he walked through his side gate and into his backyard. Sasuke let out a growl as he followed, looking around.
The yard wasn't too big—about the average size of a backyard, a third of an acre. Naruto had a pool in the center with a back patio, complete with lawn chairs and a table. I should think of getting myself a pool, Sasuke mused, never having thought about it. It would give him something to do on his sleepless nights.
"So," Sasuke turned back to Naruto, "what was the plan? I can't go pick up my engine since my car is lacking said engine. I can't carry it over here, because I'd die. How did you want me to get it back?"
"That's your problem." Sasuke snapped.
"No, it's yours. You're the one who took it in the first place." Naruto bit back. "How did you get it out of here, anyway?"
"I used a pickup truck. Zabuza—" Sasuke cut himself off painfully before gritting his teeth. "Zabuza helped me."
"Oh." Naruto rubbed his head uncomfortably. "Well, I guess I'll ask one of my guardians if I can borrow his truck."
"Here." Sasuke threw the key to Naruto. "It's 1224 Wilkins Street."
"Okay. Thanks."
"This doesn't mean we're friends or anything." Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, Heaven forbid!" Naruto replied sweetly.
"Did you clean your house yet?" Sasuke leered. Naruto turned to glare at him.
"No, I thought straightening up my garden took priority." Naruto replied sarcastically. He was about to ask if Sasuke bought a new uniform, but bit his tongue. The funeral had been yesterday, and Naruto had already made Sasuke think of Zabuza once. The blond was bitter, not cruel.
"How long did it take you?" Sasuke smirked.
"Not that it's any of your business, but—you know, it really isn't any of your business."
Sasuke's smug smirk fell right off his face, and he scowled at Naruto.
"You're such a dumbass."
"Well, tell me how you got in, and I'll tell you how long it took me to clean up." Naruto crossed his muscular arms over his sculpted chest.
"Fine." Sasuke snapped.
"Three hours."
"Hn." Sasuke thought about it for a few seconds. "Three hour cleanup for a five hour job. Not bad."
"Now how did you get in?" Naruto demanded.
"I pulled one of your windows open. Lock snapped right off." Sasuke smirked, but it slowly faded as he saw the look of pain on Naruto's face. He almost asked if he was okay, but stopped himself before the words left his mouth.
"Damn, I just had the front lock changed, I can't afford the window locks." Naruto muttered to himself with a frown. He sighed, rubbing the back of his head, seemingly forgetting Sasuke was even there. "I guess I can cut back on food."
Sasuke was stunned as he listened to the blond. He'd known Naruto wasn't exactly rolling in money, but he'd assumed he was at least a little well-off, since he owned such a large and beautiful house. To hear Naruto talk about not eating as much hurt Sasuke more than he could understand why.
"Hey, brat!" Both heads turned as a blonde woman rounded the side of the house, letting out a slow whistle as she looked Naruto up and down. "Lookin' good, twit. Good to see you haven't stopped working out."
"What do you want, old hag?" Naruto crossed his arms again. Tsunade was about to speak when she noticed Sasuke.
"You're Sasuke Uchiha, right? Station Seven?"
"Yes ma'am." Sasuke replied to the woman who was their Battalion Chief.
"I'm sorry about Zabuza. He was a good man. I had a couple of drinks with him over the years." Sasuke grit his teeth, but nodded.
"Thank you. I'm sorry about it, too."
"Well, good to know you're taking advantage of your time off." She looked back at Naruto, smirking slightly. "Your friend here trying to make you stop working so you can both go swimming?"
"We're not friends." Naruto and Sasuke said simultaneously. They then shot a look at each other before glaring and looking away. Tsunade cocked an eyebrow and resisted the urge to laugh.
"Well, I came over to check up on you." Tsunade said as she shoved her hands in the pockets of her cleanly pressed black pants.
"I'm twenty-five, Tsunade, I don't need a babysitter anymore." Naruto reminded. "But since you're here, can you ask Jiraiya to come over later with his pickup? I'm gonna need his help with something."
"Yeah, I was wondering about that." Tsunade pointed one finger at the blond. "What happened to your car? You didn't sell it so you could have extra money, did you?" She narrowed her eyes.
"No, I didn't. I think Sasuke can answer that question, though." Naruto turned to the raven with a smirk, Sasuke throwing him the filthiest glare he possessed before turning to Tsunade.
"We were joking around. I stole his engine."
"You stole his engine." Tsunade said slowly before shaking her head. "Kids."
"Are you done?"
"Don't act so disrespectful, brat." Tsunade snapped. "I also came to..." she trailed off, casting a glance at Sasuke. The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "How you doing—you know, money-wise."
"Oh, I'm fine." Naruto laughed, waving one hand at her. Sasuke's head snapped back as he stared at Naruto in disbelief. "Actually, I've got more than I anticipated."
"Not gonna starve to death, are you?" Tsunade teased. Sasuke was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed the wince.
"No. I'm good. Got it covered for at least a month."
"Okay." Tsunade shrugged. "If you're sure. You know you can always ask for help if you need it, right?"
"Yeah, I know." Naruto replied. "But for now, I'm okay."
"You sure?" Both blonds turned to Sasuke and Naruto paled as he just realized Sasuke had been there when he'd been talking about cutting back on food.
"What do you mean by that?" Tsunade asked, confused.
"Nothing." Naruto blurted out before laughing, both hands locked behind his head. "I was just trying to freak him out earlier, so I told him I had no money and was going to starve. Good acting, huh?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He didn't believe a word coming out of the blond's mouth, and based on the look Tsunade was giving him, she didn't believe him, either.
"We'll talk more later, Naruto." she said as she turned and began to walk away. "For the time being, enjoy the weather with your friend."
"We're not friends!" Naruto and Sasuke hollered after her.
"Yeah, yeah." She waved over her shoulder as she smirked to herself. "Not yet." she said quietly as she turned the corner.
The two firefighters stood where they were, staring at the corner Tsunade had disappeared behind. After a few seconds, they looked at each other again before their eyes widened and they turned away from each other, Naruto crossing his arms and Sasuke shoving them in his pockets.
"Are you done?" Naruto demanded.
"Yes. Get your engine out of my garage." Sasuke snapped as he headed for the side of the house so he could leave.
"Then don't fucking steal it next time, jackass!" Naruto hollered after him as Sasuke turned the corner.
The raven let out a sigh as he shook his head, heading for the front. "What is wrong with me?" he muttered to himself as he clenched and unclenched his fists in his pockets. He'd only noticed once he'd turned away that he'd spent the entire time with Naruto staring at the blond's toned chest.
Naruto let out a long sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck, walking through the Wal-Mart parking lot to his car. He patted it on the hood before unlocking his door and getting in. He was glad to have his baby back. He'd missed it.
He pulled out of the lot and headed for home, calculating his money in his head. He was on leave from the firehouse because of Zabuza. That was ending in about three days, so he'd be able to earn his paycheck again. Meanwhile, he'd gotten a ten cent raise from Wal-Mart. Although ten cents didn't seem like very much, every cent counted to the blond.
"Guess I won't be eating very much ramen." Naruto sighed as he turned and headed down his street.
A frown slowly made its way onto his face as he noticed the huge truck parked outside his house, two men sitting on his front porch, smoking and chatting. Naruto turned onto his driveway and parked his car, the two men standing up as he exited it.
"Can I help you?" he inquired as he slammed his car door and locked it.
"Are you Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Yes." he replied uncertainly, hoping to God it wasn't more reporters.
"Want to sign here, please?" One of the men held out a clipboard and a pen as Naruto came closer. He looked down at the sheet, noting the top of it said 'Loeb', which was one of the larger food stores in the area.
"There must be some kind of mistake. I didn't order anything from Loeb."
"We know. It's a present or something." the man not holding the clipboard said with a shrug. "We were given a list of food items, they were paid for, and then we were each given fifty bucks to come here and wait until you returned home. We weren't to leave until you signed for this food and brought it all inside."
"But—who the heck would do that?" Naruto asked, mostly himself.
"They wouldn't say. You gonna sign, or what?"
Still a bit sceptical, Naruto read and signed the sheet before him as the two men went to the truck and opened it up.
"Where do you want the freezer?"
"Freezer?" Naruto asked, stunned.
"Yeah, there was a freezer bought, too. It's to store all the meat."
Naruto's head spun as he processed everything he'd just heard. Someone had bought him what seemed to be a truck-full of food, plus a freezer? And the person hadn't given their name? What the heck was going on?.!
"The basement." Naruto motioned the font door vaguely. "Bring it to the basement."
"Will do."
The blond walked up to his house and unlocked the door, leaving it open for the Loeb people. He sat down in his living room, frowning. He couldn't figure out who would buy him all this food, and why.
"Well, it's obviously a friend." he mumbled, thoughtfully. "Neji, maybe? He's pretty loaded. Maybe he heard about me having to replace my window locks. He knows I end up starving myself when I'm short on money."
Naruto sat in his living room, watching the men bring food in. He was surprised to find a lot of the food was stuff he liked. There was a lot of ramen, a hell of a lot of meat, even some ice cream. And his favourite flavour, too!
Yup, the blond thought. It's gotta be Neji.
Sasuke leaned back on his elbows as he sat on the roof across the street from Naruto's. The men from Loeb were bringing in the last of the food. Sasuke just hoped Gaara hadn't lied about any of the blond's favourite things. After all, Sasuke wasn't his friend, so how was he supposed to know what Naruto liked?
Sasuke had asked Gaara earlier that morning about Naruto's food preferences. The redhead had obliged, although reluctantly. He was worried Sasuke was going to try and poison his best friend. Sasuke assured him this wasn't the case, but he refused to tell Gaara why he really wanted to know.
Now the raven wasn't doing this because he liked Naruto. Hell no! He hated that annoyingly arrogant, gorgeous, sexy, tanned, blond man. No doubt about it, this had nothing to do with him liking Naruto. He was only doing it because if the blond cut back on food, he wouldn't perform as well during fires. Yes. That's right. That was the only reason.
"I don't like him." he reassured himself out loud. "No way. He's annoying, and loud, and basically like a clone of Kiba. Except he's blond. And very hot. And incredibly muscled."
You're doing it again, Sasuke's inner voice sighed.
"Doing what?"
If you don't like him, why is he all you ever think about?
"He's not all I ever think about." Sasuke growled.
Yes, he is. What did you just say about him? You called him hot, and sexy, and—you forgot well-endowed, but I know you were thinking it.
"You're crazy."
You're the one having a conversation with yourself. Weigh it.
Sasuke growled, shaking his head. He was not falling for that blond idiot. No way! And even if I was, which I'm not, Sasuke thought to himself, he probably isn't even gay, nor does he like me. So, problem solved.
The raven stood up as the Loeb men got into their truck and drove away. He then fell back down hurriedly to avoid being seen by Naruto, who'd been standing in the doorway. He didn't seem to have seen him, and Sasuke prayed to God the blond never found out he had done this. After all, Naruto had freaked out and insisted he didn't need Sasuke's charity over two dollars and ten cents. Two dollars and ten cents, for crying out loud!
"If he finds out I spent over six-hundred dollars on that freezer and all that food, he'll go ape-shit on my ass." Sasuke muttered aloud.
He won't find out, Sasuke thought, reassuring himself. He thinks I hate him.
"I do hate him."
Stop denying it and go home! Go jack off or something, you're sexually frustrated!
"I must be going crazy." Sasuke muttered as he carefully made his way off the roof, Naruto having gone inside. "I'm talking to myself. And it even seems like a conversation cause half is out loud and the other half isn't."
Maybe you have multiple personalities?
"Very possible." Sasuke sighed. "Now shut up."
Sasuke pulled his helmet on over his head before swinging his leg over the side of his bike, revving the engine and zooming down the street. He didn't work with Naruto for another three days, and to prove to himself that he did not like Naruto, he wasn't going to see the blond until then.
Well, of course, it wasn't his fault if he happened to run out of, say, mayonnaise and had to go to Wal-Mart to pick some up. Mere coincidence that he'd go right when Naruto started his shift. After all, it wasn't like he paid the manager for Naruto's schedule or anything.
"Oh, God, I'm turning into a stalker." Sasuke muttered with a sigh. "I don't want someone else to lose."
Looks like this time, I don't have a choice. Sasuke, you've fallen. Hard.