Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its associated characters!

Summary: COMPLETE (new chapter up everyday - total of 35 chapters!). Sasuke's a writer whose been writing the same words for years. He's tired, he's annoyed, and his money situation is...pretty messed up, even by student standards. Enter Naruto. Modern AU (College/University), Sasunaru/Narusasu. Posted for Sasuke's birthday!

A/N: Another super late upload. I am so tired! But I love this chapter!


Enter Naruto

Chapter 23: Numb

"Hi dad," Naruto greeted as Iruka opened the door. "Itachi's gonna stay with us tonight."

Iruka blinked for a moment, and then moved aside to let them in.

"Of course—come in."

Sasuke shuffled in after the blonde, still feeling…well, in a bit of a haze, really. He was just so...tired.

"I'm Kakashi." Kakashi reached over, and Sasuke realized he was talking to Itachi. "I don't believe we've actually met yet."

"No, I don't believe so." They shook hands.

There was a beat.

"So," Kakashi said, looking them all over, "that bad, huh?"

"Ah…" Naruto scratched his neck, unsmiling. Sasuke only shrugged.

"Alright," Iruka clapped his hands together, "I'm going to need all of your help, then. Naruto?"

"Uh—yeah?"

"Go into the closet, bring out some spare aprons."

"Ye—okay."

"Sasuke, Itachi—how familiar are you with baking?"

"Not very," Itachi responded. Sasuke just shook his head.

"Alright. You're going to be in charge of the mulled wine."

Sasuke had no idea what that was.

"Kakashi, the reds are—"

"I'm on it!" The grey-haired man was already gone.

"Here, I brought them." Naruto was back, already—aprons in hand.

"Okay," Iruka turned back to Sasuke and his brother, "put these on. We're going to get a little messy."


The kitchen was utter chaos—at least, that's what it felt like to Sasuke, who had been tasked to stand in the middle of it all, stirring a pan full of red wine.

"Cloves now, Itachi," he heard behind him, before his brother reached over his shoulder and splashed the spices in, "and then some oranges or lemons next. Sasuke, you're in charge of taste."

"Uh—"

"That's good—I always make it too sweet." Naruto shot him a grin from his place at the mixer. "D'you think the dough's good yet?"

Iruka moved over to look, but before he could, Kakashi swiped a finger in the bowl.

"Mm," Kakashi smirked, "it has my vote."

"Kakashi!" Iruka laughed.

"How's it look, Sasuke?" Naruto smiled, leaning closer to him.

"Ah," he turned around, "good…?"

It came out as more of a question than a statement, because he really didn't know what he was doing—

"After we get everything in, then we add honey," Iruka said, "and then you need to watch for the foam. Okay?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Naruto, let's get this rolled up. Itachi, are you done chopping?"

"Almost."

"What do you want me to do?" Kakashi asked.

"Get a rolling pin and a pan."

"Coming right up!"

"Incoming," he heard from Itachi—he moved aside to avoid the splash.

"How much honey do we add?" Sasuke asked.

"To taste," Iruka said, throwing him a smile. "You get to decide."

"Oh—alright."


Half an hour later, the cookies were in the oven and everyone was in the living room, mug of wine in hand.

"Alright!" Naruto grinned, cuddling up against Sasuke. "Time for crappy old Christmas movies."

"Excuse me," Kakashi said, looking through the shelves, "they are fantastic old Christmas movies and you know it."

Naruto laughed and took a sip of his wine.

"Ah, wait!" Iruka tried to stop him. "We need to toast!"

"Oh, yeah! Okay," Naruto sat up a little, "to—uh—"

"A year of good health," Iruka provided.

"And good books!" Kakashi called back.

Naruto laughed.

"Good people, too." He gave Sasuke a meaningful look.

"Cheers," Iruka reached forwards, and there was a moment where they all awkwardly reached over each other.

"Mm," Iruka said, "not bad. You boys did a wonderful job."

He gestured to Sasuke and Itachi. The wine was pleasantly warm—both from the stove and from the alcohol. Sasuke cupped the glass closer to himself.

"They did," Kakashi agreed.

"I'm getting more honey." Naruto shuffled off the couch.

Sasuke snorted, noticing Iruka rub the bridge of his nose.

"His sweet tooth is off the charts, I swear," he told Sasuke.

"Sasuke knows!" Naruto called from the kitchen, apparently able to hear them. "When we first met, he ordered me that—what was it?"

"The s'mores milkshake," Sasuke muttered into his cup. He heard his brother chuckle.

"Yeah, that." Naruto squeezed back onto the couch. "That was so good…"

"I found it!" Kakashi said, holding up a DVD in victory.

"Finally!" Naruto grinned. Sasuke felt the makings of a smile on his face, content just to let Naruto to lean back against his chest.

"Shove over, you two," Kakashi gestured at them, before settling somewhere between the couch and the armrest. It looked very uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind.


About halfway into the movie, Iruka left to check on the cookies—and, after Naruto's pleading look, make more wine. Sasuke looked as if he was going to offer to help, but he was beat out by his brother—and while, normally, Iruka would let his guests relax while he took care of everything else, this was a bit of a different situation.

"Ah, still needs a bit more, I think," he said, closing the oven and setting the timer again. "Let me grab the wine—you remember everything else, right?"

"Yes," Itachi answered politely.

He came back to the kitchen, wine in hand, as Itachi was chopping.

"I'm glad," he said, as he pulled out the cork, "that you were able to come tonight. I think Sasuke needed it."

Itachi glanced at him, holding the gaze for a moment longer than usual.

"And Naruto needed Sasuke tonight, I think. I hope it's been pleasant—in spite of everything."

There was a pause. Itachi went back to chopping, apparently unwilling to reply. He didn't look upset, however.

"People put so much stock in emotion," Iruka continued gently. "They tend to forget how long life can be. And how quickly emotions can fade, in the grand scheme of things."

He poured the wine into the pot, turning the heat onto low.

"Things change. People change. Things that seemed vital no longer seem so important."

Itachi was looking at him now—with more emotion than he had seen in him yet.

"You—and Sasuke—can give up on your parents for the night. Not," he was quick to add, "that I know exactly what happened—but I can guess that you fought, and you aren't there now. So tonight is not your night."

Iruka stirred the wine as Itachi added some of the fruit.

"But next year's Christmas Eve may be. Or the next, or the one after that. Life is long. There is plenty of time to go."

Itachi's grip, on the counter, tightened and then loosened again—Iruka wondered if he might be trying not to cry. He hoped not; he always tended to cry when others did. But with the way he had turned—just so his hair hid his face from Iruka's view—and the way his back was stiff, his shoulders tight—his breath in shuddering along the edges—

"Go on, now," he said, gently shifting the cutting board away from Itachi. "Go back to the movie. I'll finish up here."

"Are you—" He could barely hear Itachi's voice in the words.

"Yes," Iruka interrupted, "go on. I'll be back in just a second."

"…Alright."


Two movies and several rounds of wine later, the cookies were cooling and everyone was falling asleep.

Well, everyone except for Sasuke. Naruto shook himself, letting his eyes squeeze shut and then snapping them open again. He needed to rally—if Sasuke wasn't sleeping, he couldn't either. He wasn't about to leave Sasuke to his own thoughts right now.

"Oi, teme," he whispered. "Let's go upstairs."

Sasuke glanced over at him, still holding the wine to his chest.

"I'm not tired."

His eyes said otherwise, but Naruto didn't press him.

"I know. Just upstairs."

Sasuke glanced around the room, taking in the passed out Kakashi, Iruka and Itachi, before sighing a little.

"Alright."


Sasuke wandered over to the bedroom door, but Naruto grabbed him before he got there.

"Nope," he said. "We're taking a bath."

"A bath?"

"Mhm," Naruto said. "Go to the bathroom. I'm gonna get my laptop."

Sasuke didn't question it. In spite of being wide awake, he felt completely exhausted. He could barely keep up a conversation; every word felt as if he was tearing the energy out of himself, and he had yet to recover any of it.

He sat down on the bathroom floor, waiting for Naruto.

"Sasuke." He heard a whisper—he opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them.

Naruto was back, taking the mug of wine from his hand and putting it on the counter. He could see the blonde was tired, but the worry in his eyes hadn't wavered all night.

He knew Naruto was scared that he was upset, or angry, or that he blamed Naruto for his father leaving, but…right now, he didn't feel much of anything. He was just...hollow. Weak. Numb.

Naruto bent over the tub, feeling the water with one hand, before straightening and pulling his shirt over his head. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the blonde as he slipped off his pants.

"I mean—you can wear clothes if you want..." Naruto gave him a sheepish grin. Sasuke let out a puff of air through his nose before dutifully undressing.

"Mkay, here." Naruto laid down in the bath, and held his arms out.

The water was hot—very, very close to being unbearable. Sasuke slowly lowered himself into the tub, not quite able to relax into it. He shifted, not really knowing where to sit.

"Sasuke," Naruto said softly, wrapping an arm around him and easing him back until he was resting against Naruto's chest. He shifted his legs, squeezing Sasuke when he tried to give Naruto a bit more room—

"Don't worry about it," he said, pulling Sasuke closer. "You just relax, okay? I'll tell you if you need to move."

It was easier said than done, but the water was warm and Naruto's skin felt even softer than usual…Sasuke sank until his mouth was below water, stopping only to keep his nose above it. He heard a noise and opened his eyes to see Naruto pulling on a little table, bringing it closer so he could use the laptop.

The wine sloshed threateningly beside the computer. Sasuke tilted his head so his mouth was out of the water.

"Usuratonkachi, be careful," he muttered.

"Mm," Naruto said, pulling away with a laugh, "you mind sitting up for a sec? You're holding my nuts hostage."

He laughed harder as Sasuke sprung up, face red.

"It didn't hurt, don't worry." He reached behind himself and pulled a towel off the rack, leaving it on the floor in front of the table, before he reached forward and pulled Sasuke against himself again.

"C'mon," he said, "what do you want to watch?"

Sasuke let out a puff of air through his nose, letting his mouth sink underwater again without replying. Naruto only smiled and kissed the top of his head.

"Okay, let's see…"

The water really had reached a nice temperature, now. It was almost like a warm blanket all around him—and the feeling of Naruto was only helping. He closed his eyes—just for a little while, to ease the sting…


Naruto fought the urge to shift again. With the way Sasuke was sitting, all of his pressure was on one side, and Naruto could definitely feel one of his butt cheeks going numb. His hands were wrinkled, now, and the movie was over, but to reach the laptop, he'd have to move his arm out from under Sasuke…

Naruto sighed—as quietly as he could. It was really good that Sasuke had dozed off—at least a little. Maybe by the time that Naruto had to move him, he would be in so deep a sleep that he would just go straight to bed and that would be that.

Sasuke had been…weird, today, after they'd gotten back. He wasn't angry; he wasn't even upset. He was just…nothing. Naruto wasn't sure if it was better or worse than if Sasuke had just yelled at him.

His conversation with Sasuke's father replayed in his mind for the thousandth time. There were so many things that he could have told him—so many things that he could have said differently—if he had just—

Sasuke turned a little, as if to put his face straight in the water, and Naruto grabbed him. The Uchiha made a sleepy noise of protest, and he glared up at Naruto.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. Sleepy, wet Sasuke…

"I'm not gonna let you drown yourself."

"Mph," Sasuke answered, blearily looking around. "Ph—uth?"

Sasuke's words were slurred and Naruto could barely make them out.

"Do you wanna get out?"

Sasuke blinked up at him.

"Of the bath?" Naruto prompted.

"Oh," Sasuke mumbled, "yeah…"

He sat up just enough to slump forwards, eyes closing again. Naruto smiled and reached around him to unplug the tub.

"Straight to bed, asshole," he muttered, pulling Sasuke up. "Come on."

Sasuke gave him a sleepy glare.

"It's cold."

"Yeah," Naruto grabbed a towel for him, "my room is close—don't worry about your clothes. Just go get under the covers."

Sasuke clutched the towel to himself and left, dripping water all over the place. Naruto watched him with a small smile. He'd have to clean this all up in a second, but first—he had to pee so fucking bad.


Sasuke was cold and wet, and now the bed was cold and wet.

He scowled.

He was never going to be able to sleep like this…but it was his own fault for not actually drying off properly. He was so much more awake, now…

The door creaked open, and Sasuke watched as Naruto—with a towel tied around his waist—came in, carrying many more things than he ought to have been.

"Do you need help?" He muttered, face still pressed against the pillow.

Naruto looked surprised.

"Oh—no, I'm okay." He set several things down, wobbling all the while. "Bed warm enough?"

"It's wet," Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto snorted out a laugh.

"You got it all wet?"

"I didn't mean to…"

Naruto only laughed again, turning to his closet.

"I have some spare stuff in here, hang on…"

"It's okay—"

"Sasuke—" He pulled at something from a top shelf, and several things came tumbling down at him. "Whoa—crap. I'm not letting you sleep in a wet bed, c'mon."

Sasuke conceded the point.

"...Okay."

"Do you want some pajamas?"

Sasuke nodded. Now that he was a bit more awake, he very much wanted some clothes.

"Mkay..." Naruto pulled some more things out, tossing some clothes at Sasuke as he pulled some on himself.

"You put those on, and I'll change the sheets."

Sasuke let out a breath, building up the motivation to get out of the bed. As wet as it was, he really didn't want to move…

With a small groan, he sat up and forced himself to stand. His eyes were really stinging, now—it hurt to keep them open.

"Wait, one more, hang on, hang on, hang on," Naruto said quickly, as Sasuke moved to collapse back on the bed. He launched himself across, fixing the other corner before he grabbed the soaked sheets off the floor.

"Okay," he stood up, panting a little, "I'm gonna put these in the dryer—d'you need anything from downstairs? Water? Tea?"

Sasuke shuffled further into the covers, considering the question. He could maybe do with something warm, but…

Feeling something close to him, his eyes sprang open just as Naruto pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Tell you what—I'm just gonna bring up a bunch of stuff," Naruto said quietly, "and you decide whatever you want whenever."

Sasuke gave a small nod.

"Okay. Be right back."


Naruto ran around the kitchen like a man on a mission. He had no idea what time it was, but no one was in the living room anymore, so they must have all gone to bed. The sheets were in the dryer already—along with some sheets that were already dry, because then they would get all nice and warm—and now he was making tea.

He opened the fridge. Did he have time for soup? Maybe…

Ah! Leftovers. Jackpot!

Naruto shoved the bowl in the microwave and turned back to the kitchen, trying to see what else he could do. Well—he may as well bring water up while he was waiting for everything else…

He filled up a bottle, and then pulled the soup out of the microwave. Good enough for now.

A moment later, he tiptoed into his room. Part of him hoped Sasuke had fallen asleep, but—

Dark eyes flickered open as he walked in.

Damn.

"I brought soup," he offered. Sasuke seemed to perk up a little, and Naruto hurried over to his side.

"You're treating me like I'm sick," Sasuke muttered, taking the soup from him.

Naruto paused, glancing at him.

"I'm treating you like you had a bad day," he said, honestly.

Sasuke gave him a look.

"You're going to do this whenever I have a bad day?"

Naruto nodded.

"You're going to be doing this a lot."

Naruto laughed.

"Then I'll do it a lot." He threw Sasuke a lopsided grin before shuffling over to the door. "I'll be back in a sec."


Sasuke watched the door as it closed. He felt almost completely awake now—although he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

He stirred the soup with the spoon.

His father…had left. Without even speaking to him.

He frowned, staring into the bowl.

The worst part about all of this—honestly—was the fact that the man was never supposed to be there at all. And Sasuke could have (would have) been happy about not speaking to him, because it was never supposed to have been an option. But now that it had been an option…

He placed the bowl on the table beside him, scratching at his scalp.

He was so—so frustrated. Maybe it was his own fault for not figuring out what the hell he felt towards his father before he was confronted with the man. He still didn't know what to feel. It's not as if he had said anything derogatory towards Sasuke—if anything, he had been much more hostile towards Naruto.

He wondered if he still would have brought Naruto if he had known his father would be there.

…Probably. He would have needed someone to push him through the door.

He let out a breath through his teeth—it sounded like a hiss. He felt like such a fucking coward.

"Hey." Naruto's voice broke him out of his reverie. The blonde was hugging a heap of blankets—and holding two mugs. Sasuke sat up a little to take them from him.

"Thanks," Naruto said, "and here—"

Sasuke jumped a little as Naruto pulled the Uchiha's blankets up—he was letting the cold air in—and then stuffed the sheets he was holding there.

They were—

"Straight out of the dryer." Naruto grinned. "They're nice and warm, right?"

Sasuke nodded, subtly nudging them towards his feet. They were always so much colder than the rest of him...

Naruto crawled backwards off the bed, pausing once his hand touched the doorknob.

"D'you need anything else?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"Okay." He slowly closed the door, obviously trying to be as quiet as possible.

Sasuke eyed the tea, and the soup, and the water…he didn't seem to want much of anything right now. Naruto had brought it all…

The felt the bed sag a little, and he turned towards Naruto.

"Thanks," he said softly.

Naruto's small smile faltered a little.

"Um—" he let out a breath, a couple drops of water falling from his hair, "I wanted to say—I'm sorry. I feel like this is my faul—"

Sasuke reached up and smacked the back of his head.

"Ow—Sasuke—"

"It's not your fault," he said, frowning. "I should have just talked to him. I was…so sure I couldn't do it that I didn't even try."

"...He was being an ass, anyways." A sad expression flickered across Naruto's face.

Sasuke swallowed. Part of him didn't want to ask—didn't want to know at all. But another part of him, a much larger part—

"…What did he say?" Sasuke forced the words out before he lost the will to say them.

Naruto eyed him for a moment, and then leaned back, sighing.

"Stupid stuff. About you like…abandoning the family and how you were the one who made the choice—and about how there aren't any jobs in writing so there's no point in school for it, which is also bullshit—I dunno. Maybe I should have—" he sighed again, "sugarcoated myself more. I really tried. I swore eventually though. A lot. I really wanted to deck the guy. I'm sorry."

Sasuke scowled at him.

"Stop saying sorry. He—" Sasuke swallowed, speaking more quietly, "he's a grown man. If he actually cared about me…"

He trailed off, unwilling to finish the sentence.

"For what it's worth, though," Naruto said, watching him, "I think it was more about pride than him not caring about you. I think he does care. I think he thinks you don't."

Sasuke stared at him.

"That's just—how he came across to me, anyways." Naruto shrugged a little. "How did talking to your mom go?"

Sasuke sighed, finally picking up his tea.

"Alright. It was fine. It…" he considered his thoughts about the whole thing, "I'm still not happy. Obviously. I'm less…upset with her, though."

"Did she apologize?"

"Ah," Sasuke tried to remember, "she said she regretted it…I'm not sure if she apologized."

Naruto frowned. Sasuke shrugged.

"My parents aren't ones for apologies."

Naruto opened his mouth as if to say something, and then closed it again, instead reaching for his tea. He felt the blonde lean into him, and reached his arm around to pull him closer.

"It wasn't so bad," he said, scanning his memories of the night.

Naruto blinked up at him.

"Your parents are very kind." He took a sip of his tea.

"Keep going with the way you are," Naruto said, giving him a soft smile, "they're gonna be your parents too."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Naruto looked up at him, and Sasuke could see the faint blush, even in the darkness. "I'm just sayin'. You've already done all the Christmas traditions—and Kakashi likes you. Iruka's great, he loves people—but Kakashi's the one you need to impress, y'know?"

Sasuke snorted, squeezing Naruto a little closer.

"...Usuratonkachi."

Naruto only smiled.


A/N: I never realized how much I wanted Iruka and Itachi to interact until I wrote that scene. I really hoped you guys liked it!

See you tomorrow,

- Kinomi