Sasuke found himself unusually tired at the end of the business day. The double effort of conducting business and tamping down the constant thoughts of Naruto had exhausted his reserves, which had already been taxed by being out later than normal.

He sighed as he locked up his office space and got in his car. He didn't know why a single encounter with a man he would likely never see again had him so agitated. Once again, he had the uncomfortable thought that Naruto might have ensorcelled him.

With a groan, he whipped out his phone and dialed a number.

"This is Sasuke Uchiha. I need Kurenai to fit me in. Anytime tomorrow. Yes, I understand that, that's why I need to be fit in. I don't need the whole hour. Just give me thirty minutes. I'll pay twice the hourly rate. Ok. That's fine. I'll be there."

He detested phone calls. He had one more to make, though, before he would drive home and pronounce his day officially over. He grit his teeth and steeled his nerve. He would frankly be more comfortable having his teeth extracted with pliers.

"Sarada. It's Papa. How was your day today?"

Sasuke wiped his eyes wearily. The sooner he could get this day over with, the better. He had not slept particularly well; the few hours of sleep he'd got had been plagued by nightmares. As he fumbled through his morning routine, he recalled his conversation with Sakura just before the divorce. He suppressed a burst of rage.

"I need for you to agree to receive psychotherapy or counseling for the first year after the divorce. I will agree to the same. We will also agree to go to family counseling with Sarada."

Sasuke had bristled. How could Sakura make such a demand of him? What right had she? He had not denied either Sakura or Sarada any kind of support, even though Sakura had waved away every offer of financial compensation—even child support.

"I don't appreciate this, Sakura."

Sakura sighed. She looked directly at him, her eyes full of sadness. "I know you don't. And I can understand why. But this isn't about you or me. It's about Sarada, about her family crumbling apart just as she's getting to know you. And you know very well I could push for this if it went to court, and win. I don't want that."

In the end, he told himself that it was only a year, and that it was a small sacrifice to make—even if it felt as if he were being fastened with yet another tether, yet another intrusion, yet another manipulation. He knew Sakura. He knew her motivations were pure. So, despite his misgivings, he had agreed.

Today, he was glad.

Kurenai sat quietly across from him, waiting for him to start.

"I'm glad to see you today, Sasuke," she said after five minutes. "Was there something particular you wanted to talk about? You've never come in outside of appointments before."

Sasuke looked at her blankly.

"I had an encounter on Monday night that I'm not comfortable with. I've had some thoughts since then that I'm not comfortable with," he said after another moment's silence.

Kurenai raised her eyebrows. "An encounter? Tell me."

"I was at a bar on Monday night. A man there was drinking, talking about his divorce being finalized. I feel as if I told him too much."

"You talked to a person at a bar about your divorce?"

"Yes. I told him that I was recently divorced too. He asked why."

Kurenai leaned forward and crossed her ankles. "Did you tell him?"

Sasuke sighed. "I did. I told him I had realized that I was gay and that my wife deserved a real marriage."

"And you feel that this was an inappropriate thing to share?"

"With a drunken stranger at a bar?" Sasuke scoffed irritably. "Most definitely."

Kurenai gave a tiny, but genuine smile.

"That sounds like the kind of things that people talk about in bars on a weeknight, Sasuke," she said gently. "What do you think was inappropriate about it?"

Sasuke looked at her, trying to gauge her sincerity. "I don't know him."

"But sharing details is how you get to know someone. Did you talk anymore after that?"

Sasuke fought the urge to shift in his seat. "He started crying. He said he had felt like he was the only one."

"Then it's a good thing, Sasuke," Kurenai said, "that you were there to share your insights. He probably felt very isolated in that moment. Maybe you had felt isolated, too."

Sasuke scowled. "I don't need a pat on the back for saying I'm gay and getting a divorce."

Kurenai chuckled. "Of course, you don't. But you are human, Sasuke, after all. Sharing experiences is an important part of any shift or transition."

"He got really, really drunk. He tried to make me dance with him. He cried on my shoulder. I ended up taking him home."

Kurenai sat up straight. She blinked at Sasuke and stared at him, wide-eyed. "You took him home? How do you feel about that?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes when he realized what she had inferred. "I didn't take him home as in sexually. I just brought him back to my apartment because he was too drunk to function."

Kurenai smiled again. "Why did that matter to you?"

"I really couldn't tell you."

"What would have happened to him if you hadn't brought him home?"

"I really don't know. Any number of things, from getting ripped off at the bar, to getting mugged, to trying to drive drunk. Your guess is as good as mine."

"And you didn't want those things to happen to him?"

"I'm not a monster, Kurenai. Of course I didn't."

"You aren't a monster, Sasuke. I've told you that before," Kurenai replied with a smirk.

"For fuck's sake, Kurenai." Sasuke looked out the window in exasperation.

Kurenai studied him quietly for a moment. "Sasuke, maybe you can explain to me how this is negative. So far, I see a very decent gesture made to someone you managed to connect to. Did he threaten you? Did he trespass your boundaries or ask for something you couldn't give?"

Sasuke ran his hands through his hair and groaned. "He was nice. He wasn't all over me, except for trying to make me dance. He told me I was pretty. The advances ended there. So, no. He didn't threaten. He didn't even proposition me."

He looked at Kurenai, who had raised her hand over her mouth. Her eyes sparkled and turned up at the corners. He knew she was trying not to laugh at him.

"Tell me about him trying to dance with you."

Sasuke let out another groan. "He was drunk. He asked me if I'd ever danced with a man before, and I told him I didn't dance. That seemed to somehow perplex him, and he tried to drag me by the arms to the dance floor. I acquiesced just to get him to quiet down. But then he told me I was pretty, and that I looked sad. Then he started sobbing on my shoulder."

Kurenai's features had resumed the impassive, professional mask with which he was familiar. She watched him for a few seconds. "How did it feel when he said that, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked down at his hands before he could stop himself. "I felt strange."

"Strange? In what way."

"I can't explain."

"Is this the first time that someone has expressed an attraction to you since the divorce?"

Sasuke laughed. "Hell, no. I wish."

Kurenai laughed too. "So, it wasn't the expression of attraction, the telling you that you were pretty…What was the second half of his comment? That you looked sad?"

Sasuke grimace. "Yeah. He said I looked sad. No one has ever told me that before. Not since I was a little kid."

"Sasuke, why did that bother you so much?"

"I felt as if he had me all figured out. And I don't know how."

Kurenai looked at him a little wistfully, and Sasuke was reminded of how his mother would stare at him after an especially difficult Iaido practice.

"Why is it so terrible that he could see sadness in you?" she probed gently.

"I can't go through life like a giant, open wound, Kurenai," he growled.

"Sasuke, believe me, you don't. But that doesn't mean that a perceptive individual won't see sadness sometimes where it actually exists."

Sasuke let out a bark-life chuckle. "Perceptive? Him? He was a total idiot. What right did he have to tell me I looked sad?"

Kurenai tilted her head and folded her arms, steepling her fingertips. "Did you feel that he was intruding on you?"

Sasuke glared at her. The question angered him. "Wouldn't you?"

Kurenai sighed and looked down. "I don't know, Sasuke. I do know that I've been grateful for strangers to recognize my sadness sometimes, because it can make me feel less lost within it. Sometimes, it's just comforting to know that someone else can recognize an emotion that they've been through, too. It has sometimes reminded me that I'm part of the human race and that I'm going to be ok."

Sasuke glowered. "That's what the idiot said, too. Yesterday morning, at breakfast. He actually thanked me for telling him about the divorce, because he realized that if my life went on, his would too."

A knowing smile crept over Kurenai's features. She didn't try to hide it this time. "He sounds pretty wise for an idiot."

Sasuke smirked. "You're just saying that because you agree with him."

A small laugh escaped Kurenai's lips. "Sasuke, I forget how funny you can be."

"I'll remind you next time. You can start paying me for the comedy."

Kurenai just chuckled. "So you had breakfast with him. What was that like?"

Sasuke mused over what should have been a very straightforward question. "It was… not… it was not that bad, actually," he said, somewhat resentfully.

"What did you talk about over breakfast?"

"He told me how he had only been hung over once before, on his wedding night. He told me that he was selfish and dishonest for misleading his wife for 12 years, even though he really couldn't recognize his orientation until his marriage deteriorated. He told me he wasn't a good father because he didn't spend a lot of time with his two kids."

"That's a lot of information. I know you're going to laugh at the cliched question, but really and truly, Sasuke, how did you feel… what was going through your mind… when this stranger is sitting across from you telling you these things about himself?"

"It made me angry," Sasuke spat out, before he could even think.

"Angry? Tell me more about that."

Sasuke balled his hands into fists. "Who lays their insecurities and vulnerabilities out in front of a complete stranger? He doesn't know me. It's like he's leaving all these openings for people to just kick him when he's down. Why would he do that? Where is his sense of self-preservation?"

"Maybe he felt safe with you," Kurenai ventured.

"Safe? That's fucking insane. He has no idea what I might be capable of. That just because I let him crash on my couch when he was drunk and didn't rape or rob him that I must just be the salt of the earth. It's foolish. It's dangerous."

"Dangerous for him, Sasuke, or for you?" Kurenai asked after a pause.

"To him, obviously!" Sasuke roared. He wanted to hit something. He hadn't felt this angry in a very long time.

"Sasuke, this person evoked protective instincts from you quite early on in your interactions, it seems. He may not be incredibly smart, and he may have been drunk. But his instincts seem to have told him that you meant him no harm. Was he wrong?"

"No!" Sasuke whispered hoarsely. "I'm not a sadist who gets off on hurting people, especially when they already feel bad."

"Say that again, Sasuke."

"Dammit, Kurenai, what the fuck is this? I know what I just said."

Kurenai regarded him evenly. "Then say it again."

Sasuke huffed. "I'm not a sadist who gets off on hurting people when they already feel bad," he muttered perfunctorily. "Are you happy?"

"I want you to keep that in your mind, Sasuke. You seem to regard yourself as some sort of lurking monster just waiting for a chance to pounce. Yet when someone vulnerable presented themselves to you, you actually extended a kind hand and an understanding ear. You didn't have to. You could have ignored him when he started talking to you. You could have left him at the bar. And, when he confided in you the next morning, you could have made him feel small."

Sasuke felt the anger reach a boiling point within him. "You sound just like that moron from the bar. He told me that he could tell I wasn't going to exploit his weaknesses. How the fuck would he know? He says he has a 'pretty good idea' of what I'm like. Isn't that rich? I managed not to rape, extort, or otherwise harm a drunken fool. So I get points for not being a playground bully, is it? Is that really the standard?"

"You need to ask yourself that question, Sasuke; you are the one putting yourself on trial, here." Kurenai snapped sternly. "Since you started seeing me, you've consistently made a case for why Sasuke Uchiha should be regarded as Public Enemy Number One. You are afraid to interact with your daughter. You aren't even comfortable living in the same city with her. But Public Enemy Number One would not have treated that man the way you did, and you know it."

Sasuke felt deflated. He closed his eyes and gently pressed his finger pads against his eyelids. "I don't understand why I'm here. I had a way of life that worked for me. I didn't need to be happy. Things just worked."

"Things work until they don't, Sasuke," Kurenai replied. "Then, life changes, and new ways have to be worked out."

"I suppose."

"I see a lot of positive things about this interaction with this man, Sasuke, whether you can see it or not. You connected with him on some level. You allowed yourself to be more open and vulnerable."

"Open and vulnerable aren't desirable traits in my life."

"Vulnerability is not weakness, Sasuke, and being open doesn't mean having no boundaries."

Sasuke felt very small when he looked at Kurenai. "Trusting the wrong person…"

"The life you've led has not allowed you to trust easily, and for many years, that distrust kept you safe and sound. But now, it's hurting you and it's hurting people like Sarada, who want to reach beyond those walls you've raised. It's time to adapt. It's time to grow."

"I don't want to trust the wrong people again," Sasuke murmured.

Kurenai peered at him intently, but kindly. "You won't, because you've now learned skills to discern who is trustworthy and who is not. Your life has given you instincts about people. You can use those instincts to let the right people in. You must have had some instincts about this man you met at the bar. You wouldn't have told him about your sexual orientation or your divorce if you hadn't."

Sasuke pondered this. He owed it to himself to listen to rational advice, but no matter how he cut it up, Kurenai's words struck him as pandering to a weak will.

He sat wordlessly as Kurenai continued to look at him.

After what seemed like a long time, Kurenai softly cleared her throat. "Have you told me everything that is bothering you about this encounter, Sasuke?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Can you tell me what else concerns you?"

Sasuke flexed his hands a few times and leaned forward, his head down.

"I… can't stop thinking about him," he whispered. It was painful to admit.

When he looked up, Kurenai was staring at him in puzzlement. "That bothers you?"

Sasuke's eyes grew wide and he was aware of gaping at Kurenai for a moment.

"Of course, it bothers me!" he answered. "Kurenai, I had a really irrational idea yesterday. That's the main reason I came to you today."

Kurenai continued to stare at him speechlessly for a few seconds. "Ok… so… tell me about this irrational thought."

Sasuke felt as if he had bitten into a persimmon. He grimaced. "I thought… for a moment… that he might have… That he might have put a spell on me."

Kurenai just stared, the same look of frozen bemusement on her face.

"I know…" Sasuke began. He coughed as if he might choke on the words.

"I know that… I am not schizophrenic or whatever. But what if… What if it happens again?"

Understanding seemed to dawn in Kurenai's eyes. "Sasuke, are you afraid you're having a psychotic break?"

Sasuke stared miserably at the floor. He hated that phrase. It made him feel as if he were 13 again, terrified of his mind and body being invaded. He nodded.

"Have you been concerned about people hearing or seeing your thoughts lately?"

He shook his head no.

"And just the one time you thought this man you met might have—somehow—altered your thoughts?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Have you been taking your anti-anxiety medicine that Sakura recommended?"

He nodded again.

"And other than wondering, briefly, if this person had cast a spell on your mind, you haven't had any overwhelming concerns about being controlled by something outside of you?"

"That's right," Sasuke murmured.

He continued to look at the floor. He heard Kurenai's chair creak as she sat back and uncrossed her legs.

"Sasuke," she said quietly. "Please look at me."

Sasuke complied hesitantly.

Her expression was warm and gentle. "You aren't having a breakdown."

He swallowed and nodded numbly.

"Sasuke, this is what attraction feels like."

His eyes widened.

"This is infatuation, Sasuke. There are songs and poems about feeling spellbound by someone. You've just never allowed yourself to feel like this since..."

"Yeah," Sasuke cut her off with a dismissive wave.

She glanced through her notes. "You said you met this man on Monday."

Sasuke closed his eyes and tilted his head back, drawing a long breath through his nose.

"It was Monday."

"That's… interesting," Kurenai said in a low voice.

Sasuke lowered his head. "I suppose it is." He felt a familiar weight settle heavily in his chest.

"We've gone over our time, Sasuke."

"I figured. Sorry. I'll pay extra."

"No, don't worry about that. You did the right thing by making an appointment. But I have an assignment for you."

"Oh god," he groaned.

"Be open to your feelings. Maybe see this man again," Kurenai advised.

"I… can't. I don't have any of his information."

Kurenai let out a throaty chuckly. "You're Sasuke Uchiha. You can find it. You can tell me about your experiences at our next session."