Behind Blue Eyes
Chapter 2 : Stuck in the moment

Pairings : Sasuke x Naruto

Chapter synopsis : Now in the safety of his house, Naruto remember's his encounter with Orochimaru and wants nothing more than to forget it ever happened.

Authors Notes : I'm just wondering if people are interested in this story on this website? Else I'll just delete it and post only on AO3.

Disclaimer : I do not own Naruto of any of its characters nor do I make money off this. This is purely for my own entertainment.


Sasuke was definitely not happy about leaving Naruto like that in the bathroom. He knew his boyfriend was right, but that didn't make it any easier to just go and leave him there. He leaned against the wall, just for a few seconds to gather his thoughts and evening out his breathing. He looked back into the main hall and noticed Neji was clearly at ease handling Orochimaru and Anko. The sooner he gets over there the sooner he can call it a night. All eyes settled on Sasuke's return, evidently noticing that the other blond man was nowhere to be seen. Neji glanced at him worryingly, hoping that Naruto was okay.

"Is your colleague doing alright Sasuke-san?" Orochimaru asked with what appeared to be legitimate concern for the other young man.

"Unfortunately he's not feeling well. Something he ate apparently. I'm sorry you won't get to speak with him this evening Orochimaru-san."

"That's a shame. I was truly looking forward to speaking with him more about his unique talents." The president shared, bringing his index finger to touch his chin.

"I'm sure we can arrange a meeting in the next 30 days if you want?"

"That would be splendid. Anko will be calling you to set this up." He waved his hand over to his employee who was more than happy to take a few notes along the way.

A cellphone rang. The Manda President reached into his pocket and immediately recognized the caller ID.

"If you'll excuse me, this is important." Orochimaru promptly left them and headed towards the corridor for a quieter environment to speak.

"Having fun yet Orochimaru-sama?" The man on the other end of the cellphone asked.

"You were right. It is my Naruto. You'll be kindly rewarded tonight." Orochimaru couldn't help but smirk when he saw those bright blue eyes for the first time in so many years. The look on his face was priceless, an added bonus for him to witness.

"My door is always opened for you Orochimaru-sama." His tone was low, yet filled with desire.

"I'll tell you all about it later." He hit the button to end the call, slipping his cellphone back into his side pocket.

The man paused, standing in front of the men's bathroom door. His entire being was shaking in excitement of what stood behind this door. He couldn't wait to finally speak to the young man alone, without prying eyes.


Thirty minutes later, Naruto stepped out of the taxi and hurried to the front door. Taking out his keys to find the right one, he couldn't stop his hands from trembling. He shook his head, annoyed at the situation more than anything. He closed his eyes just for a moment. He took a minute, inhaling and exhaling at a slower pace to calm his nerves. He touched every key until he finally found the right one by memory.

"Fuck." He told himself, opening his eyes to unlock the door.

Once he was inside, he made sure to lock the door again. He barely finished turning the deadbolt that he kicked his shoes off and hastily made his way to the bathroom. He slammed the door shut, not caring for the loud thud it made against the doorframe.

He almost ripped the tie right off his neck, quickly discarding it to the garbage can that was next to the toilet. He just needed everything off him. NOW! He couldn't stand the lingering smell, the ghost fingers that gripped his arms. He tore his shirt off next, buttons snapping off at the sudden force he used. His pants received the same treatment before falling to the ground along with his boxers.

Once he was completely stripped of all his clothing, he tossed them all into the trashcan, quickly knotting the bag shut. His heart was pounding more and more in his chest almost painfully, his breathing shortening again. He needed to calm down if he didn't want to pass out.

He got into the walk-in shower and turned on the cold water first. The first droplets of water to touch his skin were ice cold, but it was enough to snap him back to reality and out of his panicked state. He leaned forward, both hands pressing against the wall just above his own height, eyes closed as the cold water ran down his entire body.

It took him a few more minutes before he realized his body was shivering from the water temperature. Regaining some control, he finally turned the hot water on, taking a few steps back to sit on the ceramic bench behind him. He brought his knees up to his chest, his left foot just slightly behind his right one. He wrapped his arms around enough around his bent knees to keep them together tightly, letting his head in the crook of his knee and arms.

He finally closed his eyes, calming himself as best he could as the water cascaded on him from the showerhead mounted on the opposite wall. Unintentionally, his nails began to dig into his upper arms, painfully breaking the skin as blood slowly poured out beneath them.

No matter how hard he tried, his mind kept replaying tonight's singular event.


FLASHBACK

When he heard the doorknob turning again, it just made him angry. How could Sasuke not get it yet? He had been very clear that he was more than capable of getting his own ass home safely.

"Dammit Uchiha I told you I'd be fine!" He yelled out at the man no less than 2 meters from him.

Blue eyes locked with dark yellowish eyes.

"My, is that any way to greet an old friend, little one?" Orochimaru smirked proudly.

Naruto's eyes widened, his brain slowly registering that it wasn't Sasuke standing in front of him, but Orochimaru. He gulped at the sight, barely able to take one step back, his lower back instantly hit the sink counter, limiting his movements. He opened his mouth, but no words left.

"How long has it been? 10-15 years?" The older man approached the blond more, like a hunter ready to devour its prey with satisfaction.

"Y-You…" Naruto stuttered, his hands gripping the edge of vanity, desperately trying to find the end of it.

It wasn't until he saw Orochimaru's right hand reach for his face that he manage to slide himself to the corner of the room, right between the vanity and the electric hand drying machine. His eyes wildly focused on that slender hand, inching closer and closer and when the tip of those cold hands traced his whisker marks, his entire body just froze in place. He wanted to run but his body was paralyzed with fear.

Orochimaru cupped the young man's cheek while his other hand was sliding down to his waist, "I missed your scent little one…" He purred into Naruto's ear, inhaling the blond locks with delight.

Naruto somehow managed to bring his hand closer, gripping the pale hand that was dangerously too close to genital area. His hands were shaking, barely able to maintain a grip, his body shivered when he felt so powerless to actually stop him. His eyes squinted shut when he felt the pressure of Orochimaru's hand pressing up and down, slowly awakening his cock.

A low moan unintentionally escaped his lips. Orochimaru licked his earlobe, pleased with the physical reactions he was getting from the blond, "Your body hasn't forgotten about me…" His right hand forcefully grabbed his chin, ready to kiss those lips.

When Naruto felt his chin being raised up he instinctively knew what would happen next. His mind was screaming no, but his body was betraying him. He couldn't let this happen, not again!

The door suddenly swung open and two men walked in, not yet aware of what was currently happening in the room.

"Dude did you see that chick from the other company?"

"The one with the red hair and glasses you mean?"

"Yeah! God how I would love to tap that ass tonight."

"By the way she's drinking tonight, you might get your chance."

He elbowed his friend in the ribs, grinning like an idiot until he noticed his friend wasn't even looking at him anymore. Something else had definitely caught his attention. He followed the gaze to the scene in front of him, both men gasped at the sight.

Here was their boss glaring at them, clearly pinning a young blond to the wall and having his own little private party and they were most unquestionably interrupting them. The last thing they needed was for him to be pissed at them and taking it out on them later.

"Sorry boss! We'll leave you two alone." He raised his hands defensively in front of him, bowing as they retreated from the premises.

Once the door was closed, Orochimaru's full attention returned to Naruto. Much to his surprise however, he was suddenly pushed hard to the side, his own hip crashing against the vanity as Naruto bolted out of the bathroom as fast as he could.

Naruto didn't run back into the party, he quickly left using the back door to call himself a taxi and get the hell out of there.


He didn't know how long he stayed in the shower, but it was long enough for the water to run cold again, this time on its own. He reached out, twisting the knobs to shut it all off. He felt so drained from tonight's event. But what bothered him the most was actually not being to stay there to support his boyfriend and for that he felt like a complete failure.

As he stepped out of the shower, wrapping a large orange towel around his waist, the screen on his phone lit up.

10:22 PM : Are you home yet?

10:30 PM : Naruto?

10:45 PM : Answer me idiot!

Naruto chuckled at the last text. Uchihas always expected quick replies if you didn't then the insults soon started.

10:45 PM : I'm home. I'm OK. Took a shower. Going to sleep now.

Naruto didn't feel like saying much more. Right now all he wanted to do is sleep and forget about everything that happened in the last 3 hours. He was about to put on a clean pair of boxer and his phone lit up again.

10:46 PM : I'm glad you're doing better. I'll be home as soon as I can. Goodnight.

When Sasuke's last message came in, he felt relieved. At least the bastard wasn't going to push things any further.

10:46 PM : Night.

With a flick of the wrist, he gently threw his phone on the bathroom vanity, grabbing a smaller orange towel; he carefully expunged his hair from what little water remained in them. He slipped on a pair of boxers, flicking the switch to turn off the lights and headed to bed.

He crawled almost hastily in bed, taking the right side, hogging the cool yet soft fabric of the black color covert duvet. He curled up on his right side to look at the empty space beside him, almost bitter that Sasuke wasn't here now. Although he wanted to be alone, part of him wanted to be comforted by someone. He grabbed Sasuke's pillow, wrapping his hands around it, taking in his scent and slowly drifted to sleep.


Back at the party, Anko wasted no time in scheduling next week's meetings with Neji. She always carried her electronic agenda wherever she went. No matter what type of event, Orochimaru had made it clear to her, if she wanted to continue being his right-hand at his company, she needed to be ready at all times.

Sasuke took a quick moment to send a text to Naruto since 30 minutes had already passed. Surely he had ample time to be at home.

10:22 PM : Are you home yet?

A familiar voice soon joined their conversation. "How are we doing Anko?"

Sasuke quickly shoved the phone back into his pocket when he saw the older man standing next to him. He didn't want to seem impolite.

Anko looked up to see Orochimaru standing right next to the Uchiha. "We've schedules 4 meetings in the next 4 weeks. But everything needs to be reconfirmed by Neji-san on Monday."

"Perfect." He smiled at his employee before turning his attention to Sasuke and Neji.

Sasuke grew impatient when he received no reply. He quickly grabbed his phone, texting Naruto again.

10:30 PM : Naruto?

This time he opted to keep his phone within his hand while he continued their conversation.

"Hyuga Hinata? Are you by any chance related?" Anko asked.

"Hinata is my cousin. She will be the one in charge of any graphic material you will need with our joint project." Neji explained.

"I'm looking forward to working with her as well then." Anko smiled. It wasn't that often to meet other women in their field and if this Hinata was anything close to the man standing in front of her, she would certainly be a great asset to their joint project.

"We'll also have to schedule – " Anko began but was distracted when she clearly heard her boss's phone ring.

Orochimaru's phone buzzed again, another text message appearing on his phone. This time it seemed to grab his absolute and complete attention. "I'm sorry but I have something I must tend to urgently. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Hopefully I'll meet Uzumaki-san soon again." The older man respectfully bowed his head apologetically.

"No worries. I understand completely." Sasuke reassured him. After all how many times his own parents and brother dropped everything to deal with an emergency at work?

The Manda president simply nodded before walking away.

"Thank you. Goodnight." Anko spoke, bowing with ease in turn before hurrying after her boss.

Although Sasuke was happy for them to leave much earlier than anticipated, he still found the whole interaction a bit odd for some reason. The older man seemed pleased despite tonight's turn of events. Normally he would have expected some sort of resentment but Orochimaru seemed to be a very particular individual altogether.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when Neji turned towards him worryingly.

"How's Naruto?" Neji asked, concerned.

"He thinks he ate something bad. I told him to text me when he got home, but he hasn't replied." Sasuke answered, flipping his phone to text his boyfriend.

10:45 PM : Answer me idiot!

"That's strange, he barely ate 2 appetizers while we were talking." Neji let out, a bit puzzled by the answer Naruto had given.

"Maybe it was at home –" He started before his phone buzzed and the screen lit up.

10:45 PM : I'm home. I'm OK. Took a shower. Going to sleep now.

Sasuke frowned at the screen of his phone. It was very unusual for Naruto to actually use barely any words when they texted. As much as he was a verbal person who wouldn't shut up, it also showed clearly when he was texting. Evidently Naruto was far from all right right now.

For now he swallowed his pride.

10:46 PM : I'm glad you're doing better. I'll be home as soon as I can. Goodnight.

He rarely wrote that many words in one text, but he strangely felt the need to do it this time.

10:46 PM : Night.

He finally closed his phone, sighing in relief. Only Naruto would forget to actually text him like he said he would. At least he was safe and sound at home.

"You should go home Sasuke." Neji told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "I'll take care of closing this place up ok?" He kindly offered his boss. People rarely knew much less saw Uchiha Sasuke's private life, but strangely enough it was Naruto that brought them closer together and now they were friends.

"Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't be offering otherwise."

"Thank you Neji." Sasuke whispered before heading outside to go back home and check on his boyfriend.


Outside in the parking lot, a black SUV pulled up to the side, coming to a complete stop only a few meters away from Orochimaru. The driver stepped out, dressed in a complete black suit, which certainly brought out his features. His pale skin contrasted with the black suit he wore, bringing out his green eyes. Beneath the black chauffeur's hat, his long hair reached his shoulders, barely tied in a loose ponytail near the middle of his back. The finishing touch was the pure white gloves he wore while driving.

"Sir." The chauffeur opened the door with his right hand, slightly leaning forward while his left hand invited him to sit in the vehicle.

Before even looking at his chauffeur, Orochimaru turned his attention to Anko.

"Make sure I get to meet this Uzumaki Naruto as soon as possible Anko." His tone was harsh, clearly it was not a suggestion.

"Certainly Orochimaru-sama." She made a quick note to her agenda. Last thing she needed was for him riding her ass about not completing any of the tasks given to her. Over the past two years she learned quickly whenever he spoke a certain way, you better make it happens or suffer the consequences. Having seen former employees suffer those consequences, she made a mental note for that to never let that happen to her. She needed this job and she would be damned if anyone got in her way.

"Good girl."

"Goodnight sir." She bowed to him before going further in the parking area to find her own car.

With Anko leaving, Orochimaru stepped into the SUV. Once the older man was settled in the car, Kimimaro gently closed the passenger door and went around the SUV, getting back into the driver's seat.

"Did you enjoy your evening Orochimaru-sama?" Kimimaro asked, glancing into the rear-view mirror, adjusting temporarily to better see his boss.

Orochimaru's lips curved upwards. "Very interesting indeed."

"Where to now sir?"

"Bring me to his house." He smiled mischievously. He had promised to reward the man on the phone greatly for finding his little Naruto again. And rewarded he will be. Luckily for him, his earlier encounter had already awakened his sexual desires for the evening.


Sasuke was very thankful to Neji for holding down the fort in his place. Although he wouldn't admit it out loud, he was really worried for his boyfriend. The sound of his voice in the bathroom was anything but fine. Even though Naruto told him he would be fine, Sasuke couldn't help but still feel guilty about leaving him there, alone.

Now that he was home, in their bedroom, he could certainly say his instincts about Naruto were spot on. He could distinctively see his lover curled up against something under the covers. It wasn't until he approached their bed that he noticed it was his own own pillow.

In their 5 years together, Naruto always took as much space as possible in their bed, whether he was in it or not. To see him this bundled up like this, taking so little space, left him deeply concerned.

Not wanting to disturb him yet, Sasuke headed into their Ensuite bathroom to change out of his suit. He didn't shut the door completely, but enough so barely any light could reach their bed. Stripping down to his boxers, he placed his suit onto the hanger behind the door. He quickly took a few sips of water to properly rinse out his mouth before finally shutting the lights the to bathroom.

He silently walked back to their bed, slipping under the covers. At first he tried to pry off Naruto's arms on his pillow, but clearly the blond was clinging to it like his life depended on it.

He stayed in a sitting position, looking down at the sleeping blond, unsure of what to do at this point. He wanted to wake him up, ask him if everything was okay, but at the same time, he knew that in the past 24 hours he hadn't really slept either.

Fortunately for him, the decision was made for him.

"Sas?" Blue eyes squinted open, trying to pinpoint his boyfriend's face in the darkness of their room.

"Hn. Mind giving me back my pillow?" Sasuke tugged on it a little.

"S-Sorry…" He immediately let go. He hadn't even realized that he was hanging onto it so tightly in the first place.

Sasuke placed the pillow back to its rightful place before laying down, resting on his back, eyes towards the ceiling. He looked to his left side, observing the blond who partially sat up in their bed, his right hand firmly pressed against the mattress for support. In one swift movement, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's right hand, pulling him down to him. The sudden loss of balance made Naruto tilt towards the other man, his left hand rapidly found new support on Sasuke's right side of his chest.

When he got a glimpse into those blue eyes, they seemed…vulnerable.

He raised his right hand, gently caressing Naruto's left cheek. Naruto closed his eyes from the familiar warm touch. It was nothing like the cold touch he'd felt earlier with that other man. He shivered at the thought. No. Right now he needed to think about Sasuke. He placed his own hand on top of Sasuke's, tracing each finger with his own before leaning down and kissing raven's lips unexpectedly. Their kiss was gentle yet Sasuke could feel the desperation behind it.

When their lips parted, Sasuke looked again into those deep blue eyes, before he could say anything, Naruto rested his head against his chest, curled up against his body while his left hand rested around his waist, fingers slightly gripping his hip on the other side.

"Naruto?" His voice laced with concern. He had felt the blond shiver seconds ago.

There was a pause and he could feel Naruto's fingers digging a little bit more into his hip.

"Just…just be here okay?" His voice nearly cracked. The moment he answered, he heard Sasuke's heart beating faster. He knew all too well what his next question would be.

"Naruto, are you alright?" Sasuke questionably asked him, sliding his left arm over lover's shoulder, pulling him as close as possible.

"I will be." Naruto answered him.

It took about a minute, but Sasuke's heartbeat slowly returned to normal. Naruto let himself adjust to the soft comforting sound, finally falling asleep because he felt safe now.

To be continued…


Author's notes

This chapter was a challenge to write. It's not easy to convey emotions and thoughts during a time of crisis. Hopefully I did it justice!

Until next time!

Ookima