Naruto awoke late into the morning the next day. He sat up in his bed, arms stretched. He let out a yawn before throwing his legs off the bed and standing up. He went to the bathroom to relieve himself before heading down to the kitchen.

The room was empty but a plate of food was left out next to the stovetop. He grabbed the plate and a fork, licking his lips as he looked at the eggs and waffles that were on his plate. He then made his way back upstairs, looking for Sasuke.

He took a bite full of food before he reached Sasuke's bedroom door. He paused as he put his ear to the door, hearing rock music playing lowly. He smirked to himself as he took a step back and opened the door with full force.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto burst through his door, a plate of food in his hands. 'What are you doing?' He signed slowly as he focused his attention on the blonde who was now pouting at him.

"I was hoping to scare you." Naruto frowned before walking over to the empty chair and flopping himself into it, being careful not to spill his food. He took a huge bite and looked at the computer. "Whatcha workin' on?" He managed to say with food in his mouth.

Sasuke rolled his eyes before giving Naruto a small glare. 'Chew your food.' He turned towards his computer. 'A commission.' He began to work.

Naruto watched carefully, taking a couple more bites. "What is this?"

Sasuke paused in his work. 'An anime. On ninjas.'

Naruto let out a loud laugh causing Sasuke to smirk. "An anime on ninjas? That seems kinda silly doesn't it?"

Sasuke gave a shrug in response. He put on an annoyed face. 'Any more questions?' In all reality, he was glad that Naruto kept to his promise, acting more like himself.

Naruto shook his head and took another bite of his food.

About five minutes later, Naruto's food was gone and he watched Sasuke's artwork. "Hey who is that?" He leaned forward and pointed his finger at a blonde, male character that was in the middle of the page.

Sasuke sighed and paused, turning to face Naruto. 'I thought you said you had no more questions?'

Naruto shrugged.

Sasuke shook his head, trying to hide a smile. 'His name's Minato and he's the main character of the show. The hero.'

Naruto leaned forward his head directly next to Sasuke's. He leaned his chin on the raven's shoulder and turned his head slightly, his breath lightly ghosting on pale skin. "He kinda looks like me, ya know? Pretty handsome if I do say so myself."

Sasuke let out a snort and pushed Naruto's head off him. 'You wish. You just wanna be a hero in your own anime.'

Naruto let out a chuckle and sat back in his seat. "Can you imagine, Naruto The Anime!" He waved his hands in the air. "It definitely won't be about ninjas though. I'd be some badass street fighter, keeping the city safe."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shook his head before going back to his work.

Naruto snickered to himself as he continued watching Sasuke.

The two spent the rest of the day in Sasuke's room, Naruto keeping up the conversation as Sasuke worked on his art.

A knock on the door caused both boys to look up to see Itachi in the doorway. "Ready to go?" His dark eyes glanced at Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded his head and saved his progress. Naruto watched as Sasuke stood up from his seat before he followed. "I'll be busy, uh," his eyes shifted to the side. "Helping a friend out with a job." He gave them both a smile as they stared at him. "I should only be gone for a few hours while you're gone."

Itachi gave him a shrug. "Sounds fine to me." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto's nervous behavior, a feeling of suspicion haunting him.

Naruto avoided Sasuke's gaze and soon the Uchiha brothers left. As soon as Naruto saw them pull out of the driveway, the blonde pulled out his phone and sent a quick text. He then made his way outside just as a car pulled up.

He walked slowly to the car, letting out a sigh as he opened the door, Sai smiling brightly at him. "Hey Naruto."

He gave him a nod in greeting but didn't say anything else.

The pair drove in silence, Naruto, not recognizing the surroundings, looked to Sai with a confused look. "Where are we going?"

Sai glanced quickly at Naruto before his eyes focused back on the road. "A little college town between Konoha and Suna. Hacho."

Naruto scrunched up his nose but didn't say anything else. Where they were going didn't really bother him too much. He let out a sigh and kept his eyes back on the window.

Sai drove them through a run-down neighborhood. Houses were either falling apart or boarded up. Some even graffitied. Children in rags walking around, no parents in sight. He narrowed his eyes as Sai stopped in front of a house. He spotted Temari and Kankuro sitting on the steps.

"Let's go." Sai turned off the car and got out, Naruto slowly following suit. Naruto's eyes narrowed even further as Gaara came walking out of the house with a smirk on his face.

"Naruto." Gaara's voice was filled with a fake politeness. The blonde stopped at the bottom of the steps, Sai stopping next to him as well. Gaara stood on the last step, arms crossed across his chest. Both Kankuro and Temari stood up, staying two steps back, watching the blonde carefully. "So glad you could join us today."

Naruto sneered at the red-head, showing his teeth. "Not like I had much choice."

Gaara let out a loud laugh before all amusement left his face and he glared darkly at Naruto. "Now listen to me closely, Naruto. I'm only going to go through this once."

Naruto kept silent, only raising an eyebrow in response to indicate he was listening.

"You'll be dealing to the local community college kids here."

"Dealing?!" Naruto's eyes widened.

Gaara glared. "What did I just say?"

Naruto shook his head violently, causing golden locks to shake furiously. "I refuse to sell drugs, Gaara!"

Gaara gave him a bored look, pretending to look at his nails. "Well now, that's going to be unfortunate for Sasuke, won't it?"

Naruto's eyes widened at the mention of the raven's name. Cerulean eyes narrowed in controlled anger. "Keep him out of this, Gaara." He hissed dangerously. "I'm not getting up in drugs for whatever stupid idea you have going on!" He took a step closer to the red-head, causing both Temari and Kankuro to take a step back, only being stopped by Gaara's hand. "I refuse to be a part of this. Fuck off, Gaara!"

Gaara slowly let his hand drop to his side as his own eyes glared at Naruto, his own anger beginning to effect him. "I don't think you remember exactly what can happen to people you care about, Naruto. You seem to forget how much power I actually have." His eyes glanced at Sai who turned away then back to Naruto. He leaned forward, their noses mere inches apart. "Now you'll do what I say. Or else."

The two kept their heated glares at a standstill. Sai looked between the two and let out a sigh, realizing neither of them would budge. "I have an idea."

Both Gaara and Naruto turned to stare at him.

"I'll sell the drugs. Naruto can just talk to the kids, let them know where they can go, you know? That way you can still make some money, and Naruto" he gave the blonde a polite smile. "You won't have to sell at all."

Gaara stood up straight and shrugged. "Whatever."

Naruto took a step back with a frown. "Why would you need me then?"

Sai gave a shrug. "I'm not too good at talking with new people. You make friends easily, especially people your age. They'll trust you over me, anyday."

"Okay." Naruto let out a defeated sigh.

Gaara sucked his teeth. "Don't think you'll get off so easy either, Naruto."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about, Gaara?"

Gaara gave him a sinister smirk before leaning forward once again, his lips right against Naruto's ear. His green eyes locked on with Sai's dark ones as they narrowed into a glare. "Don't think Sai will always be here to save you. Or anyone else for that matter. Now get out of my face." He made sure his voice was low, making sure only the blonde could hear him. He stood up straight before looking back at his siblings. "Let's go." He gave one final glare to Sai and Naruto before heading back into the house.

Naruto stood, staring at the space where Gaara just was. He started as Sai's hand clapped on his shoulder. "Come on, Naruto. Let's get you back."

The blonde could only nod in agreement.

They reached the car where Sai began the drive back to Konoha. The car ride was silent the first half of the drive, Sai giving Naruto concerned glances.

"What the fuck was that?!" Naruto suddenly shouted, pulling at his hair and letting out a groan of frustration.

"What was what?" Sai asked, confused.

"Since when does Gaara sell drugs?!" The blonde gave him a look of disbelief. Sai shifted his gaze away, nervously keeping his eyes on the road. Cerulean eyes narrowed suspiciously as Sai kept quiet. "What do you know?"

"Well, once he inherited the nightclub business from his dad, it kind of came with the territory." Sai gave a shrug. "At first it was only in the club but looks like now he's trying to expand his horizons."

Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at his lap, frowning. "I would've never guessed. He sure has changed."

"Has he?" Sai snorted with a roll of his eyes.

Naruto gave him a sad smile. "No." He looked back out the window, resting his chin in his hand. "No he hasn't."

It wasn't long before he was being dropped off. He immediately made his way up the stairs, only to be stopped by Sasuke who stood at the top of the stairs, arms crossed over his chest. 'Why did Sai drop you off?'

Naruto let out a sigh as he reached the top of the steps. "I ran into Sai with my friend. He was nice enough to give us a ride." He tried to push pass the raven, only for Sasuke to step in front of him, not letting him pass.

'Don't lie to me Naruto.' Sasuke's glare narrowed further.

oOooOooo

Hey everyone and Happy New Year! First story update of 2022 and I'm so excited to be writing again after focusing on my drawing and painting. I'm also pretty sure I caught covid which sucks but I'm making the most of it.

As always, if you liked it, please favorite and review!

~tachiequillsluv

Naruto gave him a small smile. "I promise, Sasuke. You have nothing to worry about." He leaned in closer and placed a soft kiss on the raven's lips, causing him to relax. He pulled away slowly, eyes lidded. "Goodnight." He then made his way to his room, onyx eyes following him.