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: Oh my gosh, chapter 28 already. I can't believe it!


Enter Naruto

Chapter 28: Listen

Naruto shuffled his feet at Sasuke's back door. He couldn't believe he had actually beat Sasuke here—maybe the route Sasuke had taken had been one of those that looped around? It wasn't like Naruto had had a chance to see what bus it was—beyond it not being the one he usually took—

He knocked at the door again, just in case.

Mad or not—he knew Sasuke wouldn't lock him out. Especially because it was the winter. And Naruto really wasn't dressed for this weather.

But—there was always the off chance he was listening to music, or in the shower, maybe…beyond texting him, Naruto didn't really know how to tell.

Naruto let out a breath, the fog steaming up the glass of Sasuke's door.

He should probably text him.

He tapped Sasuke's name, biting his lip as he thought of how to start—

His phone vibrated in his hands.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin. It was—Iruka. Why was Iruka calling him? Already?

"Ah—hey dad. What's up?"


"Sasuke," Kakashi sighed quietly, "this is why…" he shook his head, "perhaps I should have been clearer. I…well, at any rate—I'm glad you came to me with this now. Oto Publishing is a very well-known company. Extremely well-known—to those in the business—for their predatory practices with upcoming authors."

Sasuke sucked in a breath. Kakashi didn't look up.

"But they have—the advance—"

"Mm," he nodded, "they offered you a better one than Konoha did, did they? Do you have a copy of that contract, as well?"

"Ah—yes." Sasuke shifted, passing it to him.

"You are correct," Kakashi said, shifting through the pages, "in that many predatory publishers do not offer an advance—it is one of the warning signs," he sighed again, "but this is Oto, and there is a reason why they are still in business."

He flipped the page, tapping a paragraph with his finger.

"They likely would not have included something so obvious if they knew you weren't alone," Kakashi muttered, skimming the page, "but you'll notice that, by signing this contract, Oto essentially takes the exclusive rights to print, publish and sell your work—in every format, and in every language. Did you discuss the possibility of translation in your meeting?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"No," Kakashi didn't seem surprised, "and the contract won't do so either. This is simply to—take your rights. All of them."

Sasuke was starting to feel even sicker than he had that morning.

"But, of course, they still need to make money from you, and that…" He flipped a few pages, as if searching for something. "Yes—there it is. The catalog fee."

He pushed the contract towards Sasuke.

"An annual fee for your book to be included as part of Oto's catalog. If you refuse to pay, it will be deducted from your royalties, you'll notice."

"…Yes," Sasuke said quietly, "but—"

"Tell me, Sasuke," Kakashi leaned back in his chair, "how much is the fee?"

Sasuke blinked. Surely it said—surely he had just missed it—

"It doesn't say, does it?"

Sasuke slowly shook his head. His stomach was sinking lower with every passing second. How could he have been so stupid?

"I could go on. They also retain the rights to your next work—and although you will share in proceeds, you will also share in billings," Kakashi grimaced, "which they go on to define in a complicated, self-referential way that they will be able to twist in court, no doubt. A publisher is meant to pay for these kinds of expenses—little things, like the cover pages, promotion, conversion to an audio book, etcetera. When your publisher is paying for these things, it makes sense for them to try and save money. When you are paying for them, however," Kakashi glanced at him, "it does not. And—of course—you have already signed away your rights to your work, so none of these decisions will be in your hands."

Fucking hell.

"But—I can back out, right? There's a—"

"Yes, the infamous termination clause." Kakashi flipped through the pages, sliding it towards Sasuke. "You'll notice that you cannot actually back out in the case that the publisher does not deliver what was promised to you. You can only terminate the contract once your book is out-of-print," he pulled the booklet back from Sasuke, "when your book is no longer available for sale in an edition by the publisher or its licensees," Kakashi tilted his head, letting his finger rest on the word 'ebook'—

"Tell me, Sasuke," his finger tapped on the word, "how does an electronic copy go out-of-print?"

Sasuke dug his nails into his leg to stop his hands from trembling. Fuck. Fuck. He had been completely prepared to fall for this. He had been—

"Orochimaru is the best," Kakashi said, leaning in to meet Sasuke's eye, "at what he does. There is a reason they are so successful."

Sasuke swallowed. It did little to fix the nausea in his gut.

"More experienced authors have been taken in than you."

Sasuke stared down at his hands, digging his nails in harder.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head.

"You have to realize," Kakashi flipped the pages together, back to the front, "that when I asked you to give me your manuscript—what I was really asking—what I was really doing—was signing on to become your agent."

Sasuke's head sprung up.

"And as your agent, it would be my job to protect you from publishers such as these." He gestured to the pages. "I should have made that clearer to you. I'm sorry, Sasuke."

There was a pause.

"If you will allow me," he continued softly, "I will look through Konoha's contract with you—and we can negotiate any terms you are uncomfortable with. Or you don't have to go with them at all, if you don't want to."

Kakashi pulled back to look at him.

"It is your decision. Is that alright, Sasuke?"

The lump in his throat was nearly painful.

"I—" he swallowed, once—and then again, "yes. Yes—I—"

He looked away, eyes burning. Fuck—what was with him and being so emotional lately—

"Good," but Kakashi didn't notice—or perhaps, he just knew not to comment on it, "now—I need a favour from you."

Sasuke looked up, the sting in his eyes easing back just a little.

"Could you please convince Naruto to be a little more communicative? This is driving me crazy."


One frantic call from Iruka later, Naruto was in his car, his nerves doing their best to build themselves back up. He could already see their driveway from here, and he had barely picked out what to say to Sasuke—fuck, he needed more time—

"Call me next time, Naruto, for god's sake," Iruka muttered, taking the keys out of the ignition.

Naruto's face flushed.

"I didn't know he was gonna come back here," he mumbled—not making much of an attempt for Iruka to hear. It was a feeble excuse at best—

"You need to get a driver's license, kid," was the greeting Kakashi gave him, eyeing him up and down. He didn't look—pleased, exactly—but he didn't look angry either—

"I know," Naruto shrugged a bit, giving Kakashi an apologetic look—he really hadn't meant to worry them like this, "you gonna get me a car if I do?"

"When you do," Kakashi ruffled his hair, "we'll talk about it. Now go on—Sasuke's in your room."

He was—in Naruto's room. Waiting for him. He had probably heard Naruto come in the door—or maybe he wouldn't have, Naruto couldn't be sure—

He let out a breath as he reached the top of the stairs. The door opened as he reached for the knob—

Naruto smiled. Sasuke looked like a wreck.

"We both went looking for each other, huh?" He leaned against the doorway, eyeing the way Sasuke's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed—

"Yeah," Sasuke's voice was barely a whisper. "Naruto, I'm—"

"Let me in, asshole," Naruto cut him off, gently shoving past him as he did. He wasn't about to let Sasuke take all the blame. He knew he would try.

"Listen," he shoved the door shut behind them, standing in close against Sasuke, "I'm sorry."

"You—"

"Listen," he insisted, "I have to tell you something."

Sasuke's mouth audibly snapped shut.

"When you went in to meet with Konoha—you know the old guy who was in there before you?" He paused until Sasuke nodded. "His name's Jiraiya. He recognized me."

"What do you mean, he—"

"Apparently—apparently," he swallowed, feeling his throat thicken with emotion, "I look a lot like my—father. My birth father."

He met Sasuke's eyes—fuck, there he was, close to fucking tears again—

"He—he was named Minato. And my mom's name was Kushina," Naruto laughed a little, "and Minato took Kushina's name when they got married—Uzumaki."

He laughed again, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes—

"Naruto," Sasuke's eyes were wide, "that's—"

"Wait, that's not—I'm not done," Naruto shook his head, "that's not why—listen. Just—I wanted you to go with Konoha because they knew my parents. Because that might make me meet more people that knew my parents—or something—and that was stupid. That was stupid and selfish and really shitty of me, and I'm really sorry, Sasuke. You should go with Oto—if that's what you want to do then of course you should do it—don't let me—"

Sasuke's lips pressed to his—Sasuke's favourite form of shutting him up, he knew—

Naruto wrapped his arms around him, relaxing into the kiss. It was his favourite, too.

"Naruto," Sasuke said as he pulled away, "you were right."

Naruto blinked.

"I—about what?"

"About—how I should have talked to Kakashi before we left today," Sasuke looked down, his voice quiet, "about the bad feeling you got in that building. About how I should sign on with Konoha, instead."

"What do you—"

"Kakashi looked through the contract," Sasuke shook his head, "and it's—it's made to take advantage of me. And I was going to fall for it."

Naruto sucked in a breath.

"Shit."

Sasuke nodded, lips tight.

"I should have listened to you." He leaned in, resting his face against Naruto's neck. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," Naruto mumbled. "I should've been more positive anyways. And I shouldn't've let you run away. If you leave after a fight like that again I'm gonna chase you down and kick your ass."

Sasuke gave a small laugh.

"…Please do." He tightened his arms around Naruto. "You should have told me about your birth parents. Don't hide that."

"I didn't wanna distract you."

"Don't hide it." Sasuke pulled back, nearly glaring at Naruto. "I don't care how inconvenient you think it is. Don't hide things like that."

"I wasn't trying to hide it." Naruto laughed a little, brushing some of Sasuke's hair out of his eyes. "I was gonna tell you right after."

"Tell me right away. I could tell something was off."

"I know." Naruto pulled them back together, pressing a kiss against Sasuke's neck. "You know me too well, asshole."

"You're just a terrible liar." Sasuke's voice was soft, and Naruto could feel him starting to thread his fingers through Naruto's hair. "So tell me now. Did you get any pictures of them?"

"No—he said he'd email me them later." Naruto felt Sasuke take a few steps back—but his arms didn't loosen. He didn't resist as Sasuke pulled him down onto the bed. "He knew my dad better than my mom, I think."

"Mm," Sasuke pulled Naruto to lie between his legs, head resting against his chest.

"I know how they died."

A small intake of breath was the only reaction Naruto got—that, and the way Sasuke's arms tightened around him—

"It was—on the way to the hospital, y'know—I…well, it was a car crash. My mom was already…when I was born, I don't think she…"

Sasuke's hands tightened around him to the point where it was nearly painful.

"…Pass me your phone," Sasuke muttered.

Naruto blinked.

"What?"

"Pass me your phone," Sasuke repeated, more insistent this time—

"Uh," he sat up, fishing it out of his pocket, "here—why—"

Sasuke frowned at it for a moment—Naruto heard the tapping of the keyboard and the little chime when a message sent—

"What—"

"Just wait a second." Sasuke pulled him back down to lay against his chest, fingers continuing their ministrations through his hair.

Naruto frowned a little, but waited. It was only a moment before—oh—

"What's going on?" Iruka's worried face peered through the door.

"Are you two decent?" Kakashi's voice filtered in too—Naruto felt his face burn and he moved to pull away—

"Come sit down," Sasuke called back, unfazed. He let Naruto sit up but, apparently, wasn't going to let him move any further away; he only sat up with him, arms still wrapped around his waist just as tight.

"They should be here, too," he whispered in his ear.

Naruto let out a breath. Sasuke was right, he knew, but—he still felt oddly…nervous.

"What's going on?" Iruka asked again—and this time, even Kakashi looked worried.

Naruto sucked in a long breath, and began to talk.


It was strange.

Sasuke kept his arms around Naruto, content to simply listen to the sound of his voice. Iruka and Kakashi had taken over asking questions, as few as there were, and comforting Naruto, as much as he had needed. Sasuke thought—aside from a few shaky moments—that the blonde had held himself together remarkably well, all things considered.

Sasuke pressed in closer, resisting the urge to close his eyes.

It felt strange to be a part of this. Even though it had been his idea—really, he had barely questioned the idea once it had hit him—it just made sense that Iruka and Kakashi had to be here—but—he hadn't expected to feel so—

Calm.

Accepted.

Like he was really part of this. Really part of a—family.

He let out a breath, fighting against the lump in his throat.

He desperately wanted this closeness with his parents.

He could admit that to himself, now. He was just too...tired. Too tired of fighting the memories back...too tired to be angry anymore—even if it had been holding the sadness at bay.

But his parents were no Kakashi and Iruka, he knew—and he was no Naruto. Maybe it would never be like this—just because of who they all were, but he was still…grateful. To have a glimpse of this, at the very least.

A glimpse of what it could be like.

But Iruka and Kakashi were getting up, now, and Sasuke realized that he might have been lost in his own thoughts for a bit too long. He didn't have a chance to protest before he was smothered in a hug—meant for Naruto, he was sure, but Sasuke got pulled along with him nonetheless.

They closed the door on the way out, and Naruto leaned back against him, eyes closed.

"…Thanks, Sasuke."

Sasuke only wrapped his arms around Naruto tighter.


The next time Sasuke awoke, the sun was long gone. He hadn't realized he had been so tired—but maybe it made sense, with how restless he had been last night and how much they had both been through today…

He rolled over—Naruto was still fast asleep, beside him, mouth wide open as usual. Sasuke gave a soft snort.

He traced a path down Naruto's chest—down to where his shirt had ridden up, down to where he could feel his skin, properly…

He leaned down, pressing a kiss to his stomach.

He still felt guilty about today—about this morning. About leaving Naruto out in the cold, like that—about not trusting Kakashi, who had been there for him to an extent that few other adults had—about not confronting Naruto, when he had had the chance, about why his mind had been drifting…

He nuzzled the skin just under Naruto's belly button, pressing kisses to it when he could. Naruto always felt so…warm. He was so full of life—so full of light. He brought a brightness to Sasuke's life that he had never had before—that he had never thought he could have. He hadn't thought someone like this could exist.

"Mm—n, tickles…" Naruto's sleepy voice came from underneath him—Sasuke only pressed closer in response.

But Naruto did exist—he existed and he loved Sasuke. Really, truly loved him—treating him as if he was somehow special, something to be revered, as if Naruto was the one who was lucky—

Sasuke smiled softly.

What an idiot.

An idiot that was far from awake—unfortunately. Naruto was always a heavy sleeper. Even before they were dating, he had known that.

He would just have to try harder.

"Naruto," he muttered, letting his teeth graze over the tanned skin—he felt Naruto shift, letting out a long breath, underneath him—

"Nn—s…"

Sasuke bit down.

"S—ah—wh—" Naruto's eyes sprung open, wide and unfocused—

"Usuratonkachi," Sasuke greeted him, lips moving along the warmth of his skin.

"Teme...why—wake m'up…?" Naruto slurred, eyes relaxing back to half-lidded awfully quickly—

"Don't fall back asleep," he warned.

"M'not," Naruto mumbled, eyes closing.

Sasuke bit down again—harder.

"Ow—ow, S—asshole, 'kay—fine, m'up." Naruto shoved himself up, Sasuke easily moving with him. It was barely a second before the smile was back on Naruto's face.

"Hey," he said softly, rubbing the base of his palm over his face. "What time is it…?"

"I have no idea," Sasuke answered honestly.

Naruto snorted.

"Then why'd you wake me up?" His grin turned teasing, and Sasuke could see the way his eyes sparkled with laughter, even in the dark. Sasuke pressed another kiss to Naruto's stomach.

"Let's go for ramen tomorrow," he said, blatantly ignoring the question, "to your usual place."

Naruto's smile widened.

"I knew it," Naruto tilted his head until it rested against his own shoulder, "you missed me."

Sasuke bit down again.

"Ow—hey!" Naruto laughed, kicking at him. "Asshole!"

Sasuke only smirked, easily avoiding the squirming blonde. He rolled off of Naruto, gazing up at the makeshift constellations that littered the ceiling—they weren't quite as bright as the blonde, in the darkness of Naruto's room, but they were a close second.

"Is that gonna be...okay?"

Sasuke blinked, letting his head roll to face Naruto, who looked far more serious, now.

"Like—tomorrow, I mean."

Ah.

"I'm not going to take my stress out on you again, Naruto," he answered quietly. He wasn't exactly the master of handling situations well, but he wasn't about to let himself do that again any time soon—no matter how nervous he was about seeing his father again.

"Hey—that—I didn't think you would!" Naruto shook his head, sitting up. "That's not what I meant. It's just—y'know," he sat up even further, leaning close to Sasuke, "if we go to Ichiraku's, I'm gonna want you to meet everybody. Ayame and Teuchi for sure, at least."

Sasuke blinked as Naruto brushed some hair from his eyes.

"Sure."

He hadn't expected anything less.

"I just—thought it might be too much for one day." Naruto smiled softly. "I only make you do social stuff in small doses. Haven't you noticed?"

Sasuke snorted.

"I'm not sure we have the same definition of a small dose."

Naruto's face broke out into a grin, and he rolled away with a soft laugh.

"Naruto," Sasuke called his attention back to him, "I'd love to meet them."


A/N: A little bit of family, a little bit of fluff...let me know what you thought!

See you tomorrow,

- Kinomi