iKoffeeholic's Word:

Eating fried pickles + watching Kill la Kill = Awesome-assed morning. Enjoy this chapter ;)

PCKAPA CH6

It was the third morning of their Hawaiian vacation already. The night before, Sasuke decided to wait until after sunset to go back to his hotel room so he wouldn't have to face Naruto after their shower incident. He relieved some stress in the hotel's weight room. As he did a few reps, he caught sight of Keanu again. He pumped faster and faster until his arms gave out. Since he worked up a sweat, he steamed in the sauna for a while in deep thought. Naruto ran through his mind, and so did Sakura and Suigetsu.

Then he was joined by another patron of the weight room. His face was covered by the towel draped over his head, so Sasuke couldn't identify him immediately. Even without the towel, the steam clouded his vision.

"Mind if I join you?" his voice asked.

Not minding at, Sasuke agreed. The man took a seat on the bench on the other side of the small room. With a quick yank, the towel fell off his face, and Sasuke felt the urge to jump up and exit. It was Keanu.

"I don't wanna cause any trouble, man," Keanu said, gesturing Sasuke to stay. "I was wondering if we could talk."

"About?"

"Just talk."

Sasuke folded his sweaty arms. "I don't see the point in talking about nothing," he sneered.

A few moments of quiet passed and Keanu began talking again. He let his towel slowly slip from his waist, threatening to provide Sasuke a view of everything down under.

"Your towel's slipping. Better tighten it," Sasuke told him.

Keanu smiled wide enough to show his pointy teeth. "Actually, you get the most benefits from a sauna being naked." Eventually, his body became so moist with steam that his towel gave up on covering him. Unveiled before Sasuke was a candid display of Keanu's length, which was virtually hairless and dewed with fresh sweat. The raven's hair was long enough to stick to his face and hide his blushing cheeks.

Instead of commenting on what he saw, he turned his head in the other direction.

"Aren't you gay?" Keanu asked. "I'm up for some action if you are." He spread his legs wider, turning Sasuke redder by the second.

"Yeah, but I'm not interested," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. Though he looked impressive in that department, Sasuke wasn't interested. Keanu still looked too much like Suigetsu in his eyes. It was strange that Naruto didn't notice.

"Forgive me for rushing," Keanu said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "I don't think I introduced myself properly. The name's Keanu."

"Sasuke."

"Where're you from?"

"Japan."

A chuckle escaped Keanu's throat. "I'm half-Asian, but I'm a Hawaiian native. My mom tried to teach me Japanese, but I got too frustrated and gave up. You're English is pretty good though."

"Hn. Thanks."

Sasuke felt Keanu's eyes rubbing against his body. He watched his lips curled into an unforgivable smirk. He looked delicious sitting over there. Tempting. Then he saw his tongue dart past his sharp teeth to lick his lips.

'He wants to eat me alive…' Sasuke thought.

Keanu insisted, "You're pretty attractive. I'm sure all the girls and guys can't keep their eyes off you. Am I right?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Am I attractive to you?"

Sasuke paused. He simply didn't know how to respond to that. How could he call the likeness of something he deeply despised at the moment attractive? No way there was.

"I'm not commenting on that."

Fanning at the steam gathering around his head, Keanu rolled his eyes at Sasuke's words. "You don't have to be scared. I won't bite you." He flashed his razor-sharp grin once again and patted the empty spot next to him. "Come sit next to me, Sasuke."

Sasuke was uncomfortable unsure. Should he run? Should he enjoy? What about Naruto?

'I'm going to regret this…'

And the raven got up. He clutched his towel tightly and sat on the other side, leaving a courteous amount of distance between him and Keanu's nudity.

"Thank you," Keanu said. "Now answer me, Sasuke." He held out the last syllable of his name as if to draw him in deeper and deeper.

To Sasuke, he was a man-eating creature—a shark and a male siren in one. But somehow, he seemed different from Suigetsu. They both had similar white hair and sharp teeth. Maybe it was the eyes. Suigetsu's were a dark, murky wine colour, but Keanu's were a bright, warm, and inviting violet. Keanu's hair appeared less dull and much longer, even when damp with steam. Then there were their smiles. Both of them were shark-like.

"Fine. You're okay-looking, I guess," Sasuke managed to tell him. "And what's with your teeth? Did you have them filed down like that?"

"Yeah. I always wanted to be a shark when I was little," he replied. "That's why I surf too." He scooted closer to Sasuke and closed the gap between them.

"Oh."

Sasuke's chin was then cupped by a gentle hand. His face grew even redder, and he was becoming dizzier the longer he steamed.

"You're getting hotter by the second, Sasuke," Keanu whispered into the steam. "It's showing all over your face." He inched closer and closer until his lips brushed against an unsuspecting cheek.

Surprised, Sasuke scooted away, which separated his towel from his body and made him equal with Keanu.

"Hmm. You're pretty big, Sasuke," Keanu said as he lowered his gaze.

"Th-thanks…" Sasuke hoped that his body wasn't sending completely mixed signals, but Keanu was obviously getting to him. Or was it the steam?

"What's the matter, Sasuke?"

"It's me, not you, Keanu."

"What'dya mean?"

Sasuke took a long pause, sighed into the steam, and finally let the dreaded words pass his lips. "I just broke up with my girlfriend after she cheated on me with my ex-boyfriend." He saw that his words were enough to make Keanu step off somewhat.

"Oh. Sorry to hear that. Things'll get better for you soon, 'cause there are plenty of fish in the sea," Keanu assured him with a chuckle.

"It's not just the breakup, Keanu."

"Huh?"

Sasuke couldn't bear to look in his eyes, but the words came anyway.

"You remind me a lot of my boyfriend. His hair. His smile. His love of water. Even his necklace of seashells," Sasuke told him. His hair was completely wet from the steam, making water drip and run down his back as if to cry for him. "Maybe I'm just delusional." He covered his face with his hands.

"So that's why you yelled at me on the beach that day," Keanu finally concluded. "But your friend—Naruto, wasn't it? You've got him. You two obviously seem like a good match. And you obviously have a thing for him if you don't anyone else getting any."

"I don't know about that." Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Keanu casually slung his around Sasuke's shoulder. "I'm not saying dive on in and make a splash! You just had a nasty breakup. Let that heal, and maybe you could make a move before someone else does."

Sasuke lifted his head and locked his eyes with Keanu's, only to ask, "You think so?"

"Definitely. You two look good together actually."

The two men shared a smile. Nearly thirty minutes had already passed, cooking their brains and judgment to mush. They'd eventually prune, but none of that seemed to matter. Sasuke felt part of a burden lift off his shoulders, and he enjoyed the relief. He gazed into Keanu's warm eyes so he could etch the image into his memory. He looked beautiful sitting there next to him, all sweaty and peaceful.

Sasuke raised a hand to brush away the damp white locks that clung to Keanu's forehead. The white haired man's cheeks rose with his smile and sported a fresh blush. They both leaned in to unite their lips and wrap their arms around each other, closing the gap between them. Their nakedness didn't bother to ruin the moment.

"Thanks, Keanu."

And Sasuke wrapped his towel around his waist and left. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to face a pink-haired woman on this island anytime soon.

PCKAPA CH6

Only shirtless, Sasuke stretched himself out on the silky sheets of his luxury bed as he stared at exotic fish on the ceilings while he thought of Keanu's advice. Naruto was still down at brunch, and he hadn't talked to him all morning. He simply got off the couch and stormed into the bathroom without a word. Sasuke deeply hoped that he didn't hurt Naruto by abandoning him in the shower yesterday.

The raven got up to take in the suite's ocean view that he paid for. He opened the window and let the salty Pacific breeze caress his skin. The sensation was magical, his nipples agreeing by tensing up. His hair took flight and waved in the current.

When he looked out to sea, Sasuke saw that the shore was nearly vacant save for a few people lounging in beach chairs. Stormy weather seemed far off, although a light shower wouldn't have been surprising.

Interrupting the serenity, a door slam met Sasuke's ears and impacted the ocean breeze.

"Hey, teme," Naruto mumbled, sounding a tad angry and frustrated.

Sasuke turned around and put his back to the breeze. His eyes homed in on the white gauze wrapping around Naruto's right calf. There wasn't any blood, so he concluded that it wasn't a fatal wound draining the happiness from Naruto's face. In fact, Naruto looked dizzy and flushed. It couldn't be that this early.

"What's with the bandage on your leg?" Sasuke asked.

The blonde slowly walked into the small kitchen and leaned over the marble countertop. He propped up his head with his arms. Sasuke knew something was wrong.

"It's a new tattoo."

Sasuke didn't stop to think about Naruto having his own money since he was laid off two weeks earlier. Naruto didn't strike him as the type to save money either. "How much? You still have to pick out mine, remember?"

Naruto's chest seemed to jump at uneven intervals. "I found my cousin Deidara down here, and he owned the tattoo parlour. So it was half-price…uh about fifty doll—hic!—whatever kind of money they use here."

"That's not bad. Maybe we'll go tomorrow," Sasuke said as he grabbed hold of the windowsill to perch.

The blonde stood himself up and lurched to the couch. From his shorts fell a strange, thick black square. Sasuke eyed the square, then a light bulb—or rather a flame—lit itself in his mind. He hopped off the windowsill and rummaged through the nightstand.

"What the FUCK were you doing with my wallet?!" he yelled.

Naruto's reply was a muffled groan.

"And you're drunk!" Sasuke accused as he snatched his wallet from the floor. He thumbed through the green bills, only to see that his wealth had been depleted, but not on his own accord.

"You've been so mean to me, Sasuke," Naruto moaned. "I didn't do anything—hic!—wrong." The blonde turned over on the couch to get his face out of the pillows. He sat himself up and looked up at Sasuke with wet eyes. "I like you. I love you. But you hate me…"

"You stole from me. I can't forgive that!"

Tears streamed over whiskers in the way that water cascaded from the faces of waterfalls. "See! You hate me!" Naruto bawled. "That's why Suigetsu broke up with you! That's why Sakura cheated on you—hic! Y-you're a heartless bastard that no one will ever l-love. People try to reach you, b-but you always push them away. It's all your fault, Sasuke!"

That left Sasuke without speech to utter. He was dumbstruck. Thunderstruck. And heartbroken, after all Keanu talked to him about. But it was just the alcohol talking. No wait—alcohol acts as truth serum. But no, Naruto couldn't have meant that. He just had too much to drink, that was all.

"Get. Out," Sasuke whispered.

"Huh?"

Sasuke's whispered morphed into a roar. "GET OUT! Find somewhere else to stay. When it's time to go, you're on your own for a return ticket. I shouldn't have brought you along anyway."

His eyes were stinging with tears. His heart was completely in pieces, ground into a finer powder than before. The bathroom was his last refuge. In there he collapsed onto the cold floor and hugged his knees to his chest.

He had no one.

Nobody cared. Not a soul.

There was no one lift him up. Perhaps no one could, since he had sunk so low.

For the rest of that morning, burning on into the evening, he cried, hoping there would enough tears to wash away the despair that spawned from their quarrel.