Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! Even if you sue, I have nothing to give!

Summary: Uchiha Sasuke left his friends behind to follow in his father's footsteps. 7 years later, he finds himself in an elevator with the last person he wanted to see. Will he walk away again? Will Naruto let him? Rating may change!

A/N: I got two lovely reviews from a Guest and crzyanimemom - thank you guys! I love reading your thoughts & getting your input on this :)


Strictly Professional

Chapter 5: Phone Call

They still had a little while before sunset, so a walk wasn't actually a bad idea. They walked together in comfortable silence. Well, Naruto seemed more comfortable than Sasuke.

"You know, you don't have to tell me whatever big secret you're holding back today," he offered, "I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

He looked over with a lopsided grin, and Sasuke's heart skipped a beat.

"N-no," he said, cursing himself for stuttering, "it's…kind of time sensitive."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, and quietly looked away.

"It's about…the day I left."

"Yeah, I figured that much," Naruto gave him a half-smile, and there was quiet again.

After a moment, Naruto offered, "I don't even really remember what you said."

Sasuke looked at him in surprise. Naruto smiled.

Sasuke let out a puff of air, and looked at the ground. "That's probably a good thing."

"Nah," Naruto put his hands behind his head, and looked up at the sky. "You didn't mean any of it."

Sasuke looked at him again. "How do you know that?"

Naruto glanced at him, but put his gaze back to the sky. "I dunno. When we were younger…like way younger, we'd fight a lot. And you'd call me annoying and stupid and stuff…and you'd mean it."

Sasuke frowned.

"Relax, teme," Naruto gave him an amused look. "I meant it when I'd call you a bastard, too. The fact that you meant it when you called me annoying made me want to get right up in your face that much more, y'know."

Sasuke snorted.

"Heh, I know. But then we kinda switched at some point…was it middle school?" Sasuke didn't reply. "Might've been…at some point, we both stopped meaning it."

"Are you telling me I'm not a teme?"

Naruto barked out a laugh and turned back to face him, hands in his pockets. "Nah, you're definitely still a teme," he said, walking backwards with a grin.

"But you know what I mean, right?" He continued. "It wasn't the same as before."

"Yeah," Sasuke replied quietly.

"So when we fought…I don't really remember what you said, 'cause it was all…hollow. Like you were faking it. I don't remember what you were saying, but I remember your face…and your voice…you didn't sound angry, Sasuke," he stopped walking, and looked Sasuke in the eye.

"You sounded like you wanted to cry."


They stared into each others' eyes until Sasuke couldn't bear it and looked away. The fact that Naruto had hit the nail on the head had really not helped the lump in his throat.

He sighed, and forced himself to glance at Naruto. Naruto was just watching him, quietly and patiently. He had no idea when Naruto had become so meditative.

"My father…"

The phone rang.

Sasuke nearly jumped a foot in the air. He took the phone out of his pocket and looked at it in wonder.

"Is calling me." He stared at the phone.

"You…gonna pick it up?" Naruto asked after it rang again.

"Ye-yeah…" Sasuke automatically raised the phone to his ear. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"You left work early today," came the voice from the other end.

Sasuke's heart thumped painfully.

"I did."

"Hm," his father had never needed to ask a question to demand an explanation.

Sasuke opened his mouth to make an excuse, but he caught Naruto's eyes, and it closed with a snap. All of a sudden, he felt like he could stand a little straighter.

He covered the mouthpiece, and leaned in to whisper.

"My father will try to make life very difficult for you. Can your business fight him?"

He pulled away to scan Naruto's face. His father was still silent on the other end.

Naruto looked confused, but a part of him seemed to understand something, because his chin raised defiantly.

"Bring it on," he whispered at Sasuke.

A wild rush of adrenaline flew through his body, and Sasuke nodded, fighting a smile. His father made an impatient noise. Naruto nodded back, unblinking.

"I'm with Naruto," he said finally. His voice didn't waver. "We're on a date."

Naruto's eyes bulged.

There was no reply.

"I'll see you at work, father," he said breathlessly, and hung up the phone. After a moment of staring at the 'call ended' screen, he turned it off entirely.

He looked back at Naruto, who appeared to be frozen.

"Sorry," he offered. He felt weightless.

"Y-you," Naruto stuttered.

Sasuke felt an exhilarated smile on his face.

"Um," he began. "My father…found out I was gay the night before I graduated. I thought my perfect grades would be enough to offset the disappointment."

He paused, looking away to compose his thoughts. The sun looked like it would set soon.

"It wasn't." He said, needlessly. Naruto's head jerked as if coming to some sort of realization.

"He…blamed my…influences, I guess. My friends."

"Me," Naruto whispered.

"Yeah," Sasuke looked down, "you."

There was a pause. Sasuke wasn't smiling anymore.

"He…didn't want us to…associate," Sasuke remembered the words. "He said it was the best thing for me. For my career."

Naruto made a noise.

"Yeah," Sasuke blew air out through his noise in a sort of laugh. "I thought I could have both. So he…he said that he would…target you. To ruin you, somehow."

Naruto was looking at him with wide eyes.

"I thought he was all-powerful, when I was a kid," Sasuke snorted. "I kind of still do. Or did, I guess."

He gave Naruto an apologetic look. "I believed him."

Naruto nodded, inhaling.

"So I pitched a fit at graduation, and made sure no one could contact me since."

They looked at each other for a moment.

"I'm still gay," Sasuke offered.

Naruto barked a laugh, and gave Sasuke a warm smile.

"Yeah," he said fondly. "So am I."

It was Sasuke's turn for his eyes to bulge.


A/N: The boys finally talk! This chapter's late enough as it is so I'll leave it at that, I hope you enjoyed!

See ya tomorrow,

- Kinomi