A/N: I won't be updating every day (I can try, but there's no guarantee for this one) but I figured I'd be nice and update today since I finished it earlier.
Disclaimer- :Itachi laughs as he runs away with the authoress, intent on torturing her for claiming to own him and all other Naruto characters when it's clear K. Masashi owns them.:
A/N 2: Oh, and you can all blame Sai's appearance on TimeFlys, lol. She requested Sai, so I obliged.
A/N 3: Most of you are wondering what happened to Sarge because I get giggley and stupid and can't write lemons or limes because of it. The answer: Yes, I am still Sarge. I have recently discovered that getting me high on chocolate numbs my senses... and I can therefore write smut. So, I may very well end up writing lemons one of these days. But not on this site. We're not allowed. On AFF, maybe. But that's only MAYBE. It's a possibility, not a certainty.
Naruto heard the outburst and almost dropped the plates he was holding.
"Oh, no fucking way!" The blond practically hurled the plates onto the kitchen table and bolted for the front door. He skidded to a halt as he saw the angry man glaring at his co-worker. The two of them seemed to be trying to intimidate the other away, but Naruto could've told either of them that it wasn't going to happen.
"Oh, for fuck's sake." Naruto rubbed his face, his arrival finally being registered by both ravens.
"Naruto, who the fuck is this?" The other man jerked his head in Sasuke's direction.
"Jesus Christ, Sai, I told you it was over!" Naruto insisted as he walked towards the door. "Why do you keep coming around?"
"You never gave me a reason for our break-up." Sai Baikan hissed, his eyes still locked angrily on Sasuke.
"Let's see," Naruto growled, "you were possessive, you were aggressive, you were violent, you were too rough in bed, and, oh yeah, you obsessed over my penis!"
Sasuke turned to Naruto, one eyebrow cocked. Sai just growled angrily, crossing his arms over his chest.
"So you've gone and replaced me, have you?"
"Sasuke's not my boyfriend." Naruto said in a low voice, the fact that he'd finally been caught by the other man dawning on him. He had the decency to blush, at least.
"Then who is he?"
"He's a co-worker. Look, Sai, I don't really have time for this. I have to be at Wal-Mart in an hour. Less than, even."
"Are you the one who stalks him?" Naruto and Sai both looked at Sasuke as the vehemence in his voice practically reverberated in the room. "Are you the one he has nightmares about?"
"Don't go acting like you know him better than me." Sai narrowed his eyes. "I was the one holding him, comforting him in his sleep when those nightmares came around. Where were you?"
"Enough!" Naruto hollered, rubbing his temples. This was not helping his hangover headache. "No, Sasuke, Sai is not the stalker. I don't know the stalker's name, or anything about him. Sai is a psychotic ex-boyfriend who doesn't understand the meaning of being 'broken up'. In case you care, he's a lawyer. Sai, Sasuke is not my boyfriend. He is a friend and co-worker. We went out for drinks last night, and he gave me a ride home. End of story. Sai, I'd like to speak to you outside, please."
Naruto grabbed the man's arm and pulled him outside, walking into the bright sunshine in nothing more than his boxers. The door was slammed loudly, Sasuke glaring at it before growling and turning to march back into the kitchen.
As he stood there, he scanned the room, not really knowing why. When his eyes landed on the phone, he got an idea. He marched towards it and searched through Naruto's history for a specific number. Once he found it, he called it, waiting for someone to answer on the other end.
"Hello, Wal-Mart Orleans, how may I help you?"
"I'd like to speak to the duty manager, please."
"Please hold." The line clicked, and then began to ring again.
"Hello, this is Brad, duty manager."
"Hello, Brad. I'm pretty sure you were the one I talked to a few months back. I'm not sure if you remember me, but my name is Sasuke Uchiha."
"Ah, yes, Mr. Uchiha. I do recall our conversation. What can I do for you?"
"Naruto is having personal problems at the moment, but is unwilling to call in for time off work. Would it be possible for me to convince you to give him two weeks off, with pay?"
"With pay? I don't think that's possible, Mr. Uchiha, as—"
"I'll pay you two-thousand dollars."
There was a long pause on the other end. "You'll pay me two-thousand dollars to give Naruto two weeks off with pay?"
"Yes."
"It's a deal, Mr. Uchiha, but I expect that money to be delivered tomorrow, at the latest."
"Thank you. It'll be wired to you tonight. Call Naruto in five minutes to tell him he isn't needed."
Sasuke hung up before Brad could say anything else.
It took Naruto nearly ten minutes to get rid of Sai, forcing Sasuke to answer the phone every time Brad called. He was getting annoyed, and was very close to just going outside and scaring the other man away when Naruto finally re-entered the house, grumbling under his breath. He entered the kitchen and smiled sheepishly at Sasuke, rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, Sasuke."
"Not a problem." Sasuke forced out through gritted teeth.
"Aw, man." Naruto groaned as he looked down at his eggs. "These will be gross. You should've eaten without me. I don't think I have time to make—"
The phone rang, and Sasuke almost sighed with relief. Thank God. It was about time Naruto got that damned phone call.
The blond grabbed his phone, and answered the call. It was short, and to the point, and once the blond had hung up, he'd told Sasuke about being given two weeks off with pay, not understanding why. He'd then insisted he make them both pancakes, since that was what he'd been craving earlier, but hadn't had the time to make. Sasuke was all for it—or, as all for it an Uchiha can be, anyway.
"So that man at the door, who was he?"
Naruto shrugged as he gathered all his ingredients. "An ex-boyfriend. We broke up five months ago, but he still comes around from time to time. I think he only does it for the sex, you know? I don't think he cares about me at all. He probably just can't find any other guy to screw, what with being such a psycho."
"So, you're gay, then?" Sasuke glared at his back. He'd already known Naruto was bi, but he didn't want to jeopardize Kiba's relationship with Naruto, so he would play it up.
Naruto stiffened and paused in his actions, turning his head slowly. "Are you going to kill me if I say sort of?"
"Define sort of."
"I'm bi." Naruto winced, turning back to his cooking. "I had my first girlfriend when I was fifteen, and stayed with her for two and a half years. When I turned eighteen, our relationship ended because I cheated on her with her brother." Naruto's paused in his actions once again. "It's not something I'm proud of, but I'm glad I did it. I never would've felt comfortable with myself if I hadn't finally realized I also liked men." Naruto shrugged then. "It's nothing personal between the likes and dislikes of men and women. I just have a certain type with specific qualities that can be found in both. Sometimes, I like to be dominated, and others, I like to dominate. Is that so wrong?"
"I never said it was." Sasuke replied, his hands laced together and resting against his lips, his elbows propped on the table. "It would've been nice if you'd told us, though."
"Why? So Genma could try harder to rape me?" Naruto smirked over his shoulder.
"I would've liked to know." Sasuke narrowed his eyes. Naruto froze, their eyes locked. He let a small, nervous chuckle escape before turning back to the pancake batter, pouring a dollop of it onto a waiting frying pan.
"Why would it matter?"
"Because you've known about how I felt since almost the beginning, yet you did nothing to further the relationship."
"You were a dick." Naruto insisted, turning to glare at Sasuke. "I'm all for dating, but when someone tries to get with me via stalking, pranks and trickery, that's not cool."
"Perhaps had you informed me of your preferences beforehand, I would not have resorted to such acts."
"Bullshit, Sasuke." Naruto glared, reaching for the frying pan and flipping the pancake without even looking at it. "Even your excuse of having no people skills is a better attempt of gaining my forgiveness than that crap."
"Are you so scared of me that you deliberately distanced yourself relationship-wise, Uzumaki?" Sasuke got to his feet, anger boiling in his stomach.
"And if I did?" Naruto shot back. "You have no idea what it's like being me. You may be gorgeous, Sasuke, but last I checked, you didn't have crazy stalkers coming after you all the time, or psycho ex-boyfriends coming back for a good lay. Nobody cares to know who Naruto Uzumaki is, they only want a piece of his fucking ass!" Naruto's hand slammed down on the handle of the frying pan, causing it to fly off the stove. Naruto reflexively held out his hand to catch it, letting out a cry as he burned his hand on the hot metal kitchen appliance. It clattered to the floor loudly, the pancake landing peacefully beside it.
The blond cradled his hand against his chest, taking deep breaths to calm himself down. He hadn't meant to explode, but sometimes, he couldn't help himself. He kept too much inside, and when someone pushed even just a little bit, they opened the floodgates before he had the chance to close them.
"Is that really what you think?" Sasuke asked in a low voice. "Do you really think the only reason I wanted you was because you were drop-dead gorgeous?"
Naruto just grit his teeth, turning towards his sink and jerking on the cold water. He put his hand beneath the spray, ignoring Sasuke as he moved closer.
"Do you have any idea what you do to me? How you can get under my skin so easily, when others have been trying for years to get a reaction out of me? You don't even understand what kind of power you have over me, do you? Fuck, Naruto! I care about you so much that last night—" Sasuke cut himself off, but then forced himself to continue. "Last night, when I brought you home drunk, and you started making out with me, I forced you to stop because it wouldn't be fair to take advantage of you like that." Sasuke saw Naruto's shoulders stiffen, but he continued anyway. "You're more than just a piece of ass to me, Uzumaki, and I'm almost insulted you'd regard me so badly. If all I wanted was a tension-release fuck, I would've gone to Genma or something. It wouldn't have to be you."
Sasuke bent down and picked up the frying pan, placing it back on the stove. He reached down for the pancake, throwing it out seconds later. He'd said all he had to say, and could do nothing more than wait, now.
"What is it?" Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the question.
"What is what?"
"What is it about me?" Naruto whispered. "What is it besides the blond hair and blue eyes?"
"You've had a lot of grief because of that, haven't you?" Sasuke said sympathetically.
"You know, I used to wish I was one of the ugly guys in high school." Naruto whispered, watching the water flow onto his hand and then drip off the sides. "When you're attractive, good-looking, hot, you can never be sure whether people like you for who you are, or if they only like you because of what you look like. If you're one of the ugly people, even if you complain and cry about how ugly you are, you can find solace in the fact that the day you find someone who claims to love you, you'll know it's true, because they won't be in it for your looks. You won't have to spend your time worrying about whether they want you, or your appearance. Physical attraction is a horrible thing, and many people tend to forget that such beauty on the outside fades with time, but beauty on the inside will remain as long as it has not been broken."
"Do you consider yourself broken, Uzumaki?" Sasuke inquired, ensuring he kept a small distance between himself and Naruto.
"I believe we're both broken, Uchiha." Naruto replied, looking over his shoulder. "I believe the two of us have reached a point where we worry over our physical appearance because we are afraid of being rejected for our inner selves. If someone does not like what they sees on the outside, and then continues not to like what they see on the inside, then it is like the person ceases to exist due to the mere fact that no one will acknowledge them. Others face the problem of being noticed too much, wherein the disappearance of that attention will cause the person to feel useless and undesirable because the lack of acknowledgement is foreign to them."
"Is that how you feel?" Sasuke took a step closer. "The Uzumaki child, forever doomed to be in the spotlight, but never to be regarded as the main character?"
"Something like that." Naruto smiled to himself, his eyes back to staring at his hand.
"You know, you're not as stupid as you seem to think." The blond's head snapped up and turned to regard Sasuke with an inquiring gaze. "You asked me what it was about you that I liked, and one of the many things is what you just said."
"Something like that?" Naruto asked, slightly confused. Sasuke just chuckled.
"No. You know how to carry on a deep conversation when you deem it necessary, and you have no problem speaking your mind. You're funny, loving, caring, and you try your best to get along with everyone, from the perverted, hyper people like Genma, to the downright impossible to get along with people, like Gaara and myself. And hey, if you can be friends with Gaara, then how the hell do I stand a chance?" He smiled slightly, Naruto doing the same.
"You're not the bastard I thought you were, Sasuke."
"Yeah. Even I'm surprised." the raven joked. Naruto flat-out laughed at that. "Come on, Uzumaki. Get that cute little ass of yours seated, and I'll finish making the pancakes."
"So you do like my ass." Naruto teased as he turned off the water and cradled his damp hand against his chest.
"I may like your ass, but it's nothing compared to how much I love your heart."
"Shit, it's a cooker!" Kiba yelled over the roar of the engine and the sirens blaring above their heads.
"Damn." Kakashi breathed. "Of all the nights we could've had a huge fire, it had to be tonight!"
"We're not going to get much backup, what with all the other fires downtown." Naruto screamed above the roar of the engine.
"We'll have to do with the five Engines, two Trucks, the Telesquirt and the Medic." Gaara called back as he turned a corner sharply.
"If they can spare them for us!" Sasuke complained.
"Whoa, boss. That thing looks hot!" Kotetsu hollered over the radio from Truck Ten.
"Are we first on the scene?" Raidou inquired.
"Yeah, it looks like it." Kakashi replied. "They can't spare a Batt Chief with all the fires going on tonight. Shit."
"You taking Incident Command (1)?" Raidou inquired.
"I'm going to have to. The next rig won't be here for a while, and I don't want you jeopardized." Kakashi growled low in his throat. He hated being Incident Commander. "Scarface, you're acting-Captain while I'm busy. Death, you and Kyuubi are going in the front. Arrow, I want you and Magna around the back, hosing the rear of the building. I'll get you guys help as soon as the other rigs arrive."
"Roger."
"No sweat, boss."
He received affirmatives all around seconds before they screeched onto the site. His firefighters went into action immediately, rushing out of their respective rigs and running towards the fire. The structure was a large office building, and it was unclear as to whether or not there were any people inside. Kakashi suspected there may be a janitor or something, but he couldn't be sure. It didn't mean he wouldn't send his RIT team in, though, if it was necessary. He had Izumo and Kiba standby in case they were needed. Sasuke, Naruto, Kotetsu and Genma all prepared themselves for the entry while Gaara hastily got the rig pumping water. Raidou jumped out of Truck Ten to stand somewhat in between the two different rigs in order to give them efficient orders.
Kakashi's men were quick and efficient, having already entered the building to fight the fire when the next two rigs arrived. They were short of help, and the fire was huge. Kakashi knew this would end badly, and he would probably have no choice but let the building burn down and try and contain the damage as much as possible.
Kakashi ordered Gaara and another driver from one of the other rigs to hose down the neighbouring buildings on the left, while others were told to do the same on the right. He didn't need them catching fire and burning down as well, he had enough on his hands.
"Hayate! Tenten!" he called to his two medics. Aoba stayed where he was by Medic Eight, the other two running towards Kakashi. "I need you to check the gages on both Engine Seven and Engine Two. I'm short people, and I need all the help I can get."
"You got it." Tenten rushed towards Engine Two. Hayate merely nodded before running to take Gaara's previous spot by the gages on Engine Seven.
"This is a nightmare." Kakashi whispered.
"Hey boss, the fire's getting worse back here!" Kotetsu hollered into his radio.
"Yeah, Scarecrow, we need damage control back here or the rear building is going to light up like a Christmas tree."
"Fuck!" Kakashi hollered. "Where the fuck are my two other rigs?.!" he shouted to no one in particular.
Inside, Naruto and Sasuke were finding it hard to fight the fire without getting barbecued. It was hot. Very hot. Much hotter than either of them had ever experienced before. Naruto felt like his suit was melting off and sweat was practically pouring off him in buckets.
"Hey, Death, is it just me, or does it seem like we're doing squat in here?"
"It seems like we're doing squat." the other firefighter agreed.
For his part, Hayate obediently watched the gages, ensuring the water pressure was all right and that the tank was still full. He felt something itching at the back of his eyes and cocked his head to the side as he continued to stare at the gages. Suddenly, everything went to zero, and his eyes widened. Naruto and Sasuke were no longer getting any water.
"Oh my God." Hayate whispered before whipping around. "Naruto! Sasuke! Get the fuck out of there! Yo—" The paramedic didn't have the time to finish his sentence. Two seconds later, Engine Seven exploded.
All the rigs on location rocked with the shockwave, Medic Eight tipping over completely sideways. All firefighters in the area were thrown clear off their feet while the ones inside stumbled and fell forward. Naruto and Sasuke soon realized they were out of water, and when one was in the heart of a huge fire, this was a bad thing.
"What the fuck happened?.!" Sasuke hollered into his radio.
"Holy shit! Engine Seven just blew the fuck up!" Kiba hollered hysterically. "Oh my God! Hayate is—holy shit! Kakashi! Kakashi!"
"Kiba, help Aoba! Izumo, get Tenten over here, now!"
"What the fuck is going on out there?.!" Naruto hollered, already inching backwards. He didn't like just sitting there with no water, especially if what Kiba said was true.
"All firefighters within or around the building retreat now!" Raidou called over Kakashi's radio, since he was Incident Command and had the right frequency. "I repeat, all firefighters within or around the building retreat now! We have an emergency! Code White! (2)"
Naruto and Sasuke shared a look before they hastily began to go back along the hose. They could feel the fire pressing in around them, and Naruto's breath was coming shorter and faster. He'd never been so fucking scared in his life. Were they going to roast to death?.!
Sasuke suddenly wrenched the back of Naruto's jacket, pulling him back mere seconds before the ceiling collapsed right in front of him, blocking their only escape with another wall of fire.
"Sasuke, Naruto, get out of there! Get out of there now!" Raidou hollered over his radio.
"Oh my fucking God." Naruto whispered as the fire closed in around them.
(1) Incident Command: Okay, every large structure fire or general emergency has to have someone in charge. This person—the Incident Commander—is basically in charge of everyone and everything, directing who goes where and who does what. This is usually the Battalion Chief's job, but when one isn't available, a Captain can assume that position. The first rig on the scene has the option of either taking Incident Command, or passing it on to the next Captain. As Kakashi is the first one there, and is uncertain as to when more help will arrive, he opted to take command.
(2) As far as I know, a Code White means "Accident". Of course, I'm sure this varies from place to place, but we've already established I'm mixing and matching. :sweatdrop:
A/N: Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun... That's right, hate me. :grins: Also... no more psychological movies for Sarge. Gets me in a weird mood...