Chapter 11

Sasuke glared across the table stubbornly, impatience flashing in his dark eyes. The blond in his gaze squirmed but kept his gaze sternly locked on the paperwork in front him. No one spoke. An uncomfortable shift in the seat and a light awkward cough were the only noise anyone dared to make. Sasuke's eyes narrowed further, and for a moment half the people in the room were concerned that Naruto would burst into flames.

The raven haired male ignored the nervous glances his coworkers were throwing between him and the dobe. Since he had arrived at seven he'd been trying to corner the blond, desperately needing to talk to him. Naruto was being unusually slippery, however. It seemed like every time Sasuke entered a room he was 'just on his way out' or remembered some urgent business he needed to attend to. If it hadn't been for the meeting with Kishimoto at nine Sasuke would have grabbed the quick footed blond by the tie right that second and dragged him into his office to either talk over their fight yesterday….or beat the living shit out of him. Depending on whether or not nearly choking him with his own tie would be enough to ease the Uchiha's annoyance.

Why was Naruto being so god damned difficult? It's not like they had never fought before- so maybe yesterday was…worse than usual, but still…It was nothing they couldn't handle. Was it that he got drunk? Was he upset that Sasuke had seen him wasted? No…If that was the case Naruto would have marched up to Sasuke the second he arrived and apologized. In a rude, possible insulting way of course, but he would have gotten straight to the point. Naruto didn't like coddling himself. So what was it? Why was he acting so…

"They have arrived." Sasuke's head shot up and he nodded tersely at Kakashi.

"Greet them, and lead them in." The older man gave him a mock salute and vanished down the hall. Everyone in the boardroom took in a deep breath. Sasuke cast one last glance at Naruto, and frowned when he notice him shudder slightly. What the hell?

"Uchiha-san." Sasuke slowly drew his gaze up to the man that had quickly replaced Kakashi in the doorway. It took everything he had not to glower.

"Sabaku-san. It's good to see you again." Sasuke responded, getting to his feet to give Gaara a slight, and rather stiff, bow. Gaara returned it with equal distaste. He entered the room, taking a seat across from Naruto, yet his eyes never left Sasuke's. His associates filed in after him, glancing curiously from Gaara to Sasuke. This was supposed to be a friendly, equal-opportunity merger, so why was there so much tension in the air?

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Naruto winced as his back struck the wall, hard. A hand fisted in his shirt, and angry, dark eyes glared down on him. Naruto scowled and struggled, twisting roughly in an attempt to get loose. He had been trying so hard to avoid this, but after three hours of negotiations, a recess had been desperately needed. Now here he was, trapped in the men's bathroom with a very irate Uchiha.

"Sasuke, let go. The meeting will start up again soon."

"Look at me when you're talking to me." Sasuke snapped, shaking him slightly. Naruto swallowed hard and lifted his gaze, glaring at him angrily.

"What the hell is your problem?" Naruto snapped, wanting more than anything to get out.

"My problem? What's your problem? You've been running from me all morning!" Naruto winced. To anyone else Sasuke would have sounded pissed. To Naruto, the hurt masked in his voice was like ice, biting and gnawing at his already fragile state.

"Is this about yesterday?" The dark haired man demanded, shaking Naruto's shoulders lightly, trying to keep the man focused. Naruto flinched, and Sasuke's throat went dry.

"God, dobe, if you're going to pout like a child…." Naruto scowled, his old temper suddenly flaring to life.

"I'm not pouting!" He growled.

"…Won't look me in the eye, dive out of every room when you see me coming…" Naruto scowled.

"Shut up, jackass!"

"…Run away like a little…" Sasuke didn't have the chance finish his sentence, because Naruto had suddenly socked him in the face. Sasuke hit the side of the bathroom stall hard, and his breath vanished. After a few seconds his head caught up with his body and his eyes flared with rage. He dove, sending both of them stumbling to the ground. Sasuke re-grabbed a fistful of Naruto's shirt and slammed his knee into the blond's side. Naruto let out a startled snarl, and managed to get a leg out from underneath the enraged Uchiha. Hooking it around the other's waist, he somehow managed to flip them, causing them to roll apart. Naruto's arm hit a corner hard, while Sasuke received a rather hard jab to the head. This separation didn't last long, as Sasuke pinned him again sharply and gave him a fist to the gut.

"Jackass! Who the hell do you think you are!?!" Sasuke snarled. Naruto's eyes glowed.

"YOUR PARTNER GODDAMNIT!" Naruto bellowed, his voice echoing wildly around the bathroom. His fingers dug angrily into Sasuke's wrists, and he stared up at Sasuke with the brightest eyes Sasuke had ever seen. Sasuke's body relaxed as he stared down at the angry blond. His clothes, which Temari had straightened only hours before, were desperately rumpled and his face was flushed. His body was pinned between Sasuke's legs, his warmth radiating through the raven-haired man's thighs. Both men were panting from exertion.

"…Naruto…" Sasuke breathed, his eyes digging into Naruto's hungrily. At the sound of his name, Naruto's body relaxed and he closed his eyes, his breathing beginning to level out. Sasuke couldn't take his eyes of the blond's mouth, watching with fascination as his lips parted for air hungrily.

"I hate you sometimes." The blond murmured, looking away. Sasuke's anger grew and he growled, pulling Naruto up by the cuff of his shirt. The burning pressure of his rage at those words held back the thick feeling of hurt that caught in his throat.

"Usuratonkachi! Don't you dare say that!" Sasuke hissed his face only a breath away. Their eyes locked, and Naruto's heart clutched painfully. Sasuke's eyes were clear and dark, pain lurching along the plains of black. "Keep your mouth shut!"

"Why not?" Naruto whispered his voice distant. "Does it really matter what I think? I'm nobody, remeb…" A smooth hand covered his mouth hard, and angry black eyes narrowed.

"Fool." He growled. "I don't waste my time on nobodies." Naruto's heart jumped, and his eyes widened. Sasuke smirked, and slowly withdrew his hands, his fingers brushing across the blond's mouth slightly. Naruto flushed, and blue eyes stared up at him questioningly.

Sasuke leaned in, the ends of his hair tickling Naruto's cheeks. Sasuke wanted to wipe those words away. Those ugly, vicious words that seemed to make Naruto's face darken in a way Sasuke saw in the mirror every morning. His tongue ran idly across his own mouth, and Sasuke was amazed at the knowledge that it would be so easy right then to lick those words away, suck those words away, bite those words away….

"…Sasuke?" The raven's smirk had slipped, and a strange, unrecognizable look appeared on his face.

"Naruto…I…"

"Sasuke! Naruto! The meeting is starting up again! Get your asses out here!" Sakura bellowed, and Sasuke's eyes closed off. He jumped to his feet, quickly straightening his suit. Naruto gaped at him. What the hell had just happened!?!

Sasuke smirked, and fixed his tie.

"Coming dobe?" He asked, holding out his hand. Naruto grinned hesitantly and took it, letting Sasuke help him to his feet. Sasuke pulled a little harder than necessary, and Naruto was suddenly pressed awkwardly against his chest. Leaning down, Sasuke put his mouth impossibly close to the blond's ear.

"Clumsy." He murmured his voice oddly husky. Naruto felt his face flush as a part of his brain noted how much warmer Sasuke's breath was than Gaara's.

"Teme." He grumbled, pulling away and pulling his jacket straight. "Yeah. Let's go."

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Gaara's eyes narrowed as the Uchiha re-entered the boardroom, followed closely by a meekly smiling Naruto. The red head did his best not to scowl at the sight. After all he had went through the day before, Uchiha had him smiling again in fifteen minutes?

The two sat down, and Sasuke's black eyes locked onto Gaara's with a look of smugness and heat. If Gaara hadn't been so drained from the day before, he would have been amused- The raven haired man still didn't even know what they were really fighting for, did he? No, or he wouldn't look so sure of himself right now. Foolish boy.

"Where were we?" Kankuro mused in his seat behind Gaara, his eyes flickering over the paperwork on the table before him.
"We were discussing property rights, I believe." Sasuke responded his voice thick and cool. Gaara tilted his chin slightly, and his eyes drew slowly away from Sasuke to study the still slightly flushed blond beside him. He could feel Sasuke's suspicious gaze on him.

"Yes." Gaara murmured, almost as if to himself. "Rights of…ownership." He added, as Naruto looked up, feeling Gaara's gaze on him. Upon hearing his words, Naruto's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Gaara's face revealed nothing. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he tried to draw Gaara's gaze back to him.

"Under the restriction of the merger, we will be included within the limits of most of your existing patents." Ino stated quickly, sensing the tension in the room and wanting desperately to dissuade it. Beside her Sakura was gripping her skirt with anxiety. "And Kishimoto will be given the right to any slogans, brand names, or copyrighted material that is in any way connected to a product supplied by your company, with minimal charge if you want to apply the name to unfinished goods…" Sasuke felt a scowl growing on his impassive face; the longer Gaara stared at Naruto. The uneasy peace the two had sucker-punched into each other only minutes before was fragile and still needed tending. For some reason, Sasuke felt Gaara was attacking it head on.

"…It would save immense time in future negotiations if we set up parameters for joint-ownership of future property." Ino continued, her eyes flickering uneasily from Naruto, to Gaara, to Sasuke. Clearly, she was missing something.

"Ownership is a question of stance and timing. It is impossible to judge now what will exist in the future." Gaara responded calmly, and Naruto felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. "Who knows what will be here tomorrow?" Naruto's face went ashen.

"How very philosophical, Sabaku-san. But this is business. Everything that exists tomorrow is based on an idea that exists today." Sasuke's voice was eerily calm, even more so than Gaara's. Naruto shivered, and Gaara's piercing eyes drew away briefly to lock onto the burning ebony of Sasuke's. It almost looked as if there was a slight smirk on his face.

"Not all of today's ideas succeed, Uchiha-san." Sasuke's fists tightened.

"I don't believe in failure." He snapped. Gaara's smirk was clearly visible now.

"Ah, but failure is always there. Right around the corner." He mused, and slowly let his gaze drift back to the now stiff Naruto.

"What do you think, Uzumaki-san?" Naruto's shy blue eyes lifted, and their gazes locked. Naruto's lips parted, but the words kept getting caught on his tongue. Say something, damnit!

"I…I…" Oh, very nice genius. "I think that….that there's….there's always…" All eyes were on him, and Naruto felt his face grow unbearably hot. "There's always a chance." Gaara's smirk didn't fade, and Naruto felt his stomach sink. What was it about the red haired man that made him feel so empty?

"But not always certainty." He returned coolly, and once again let his eyes fall back on Sasuke. "Kankuro, what are our demands?" The suddenly strict business tone in Gaara's voice brought everyone back to the present, and brief gazes were exchanged between both the Konoha Corporation's reps and the Kishimoto reps. Kankuro cleared his throat, and everyone felt the tension dissipate into apathetic patience. Negotiations had resumed.

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Author's notes!

I know what you're all thinking: WHAT TOOK HER SO LONG!?! (Fill in appropriate swear words)

Yes, I know, It's been a while. I was away for Christmas and I have very limited internet access at home. I did, however, work diligently. I have several chapters ready for posting, and I plan to post them quickly, every two days or so, until I'm caught up with where my story is, and how much is posted.

I'm actually kind of annoyed with this story. I had a hard time making Naruto and Sasuke behave themselves! They keep fighting! fumes But I think it worked out well enough, anyway…

…You'll understand what I'm talking about after I've posted a few more chapters.

I hope everyone had a great holiday, whatever holiday that may be, and a good year to come! Throws confetti then diligently sweeps it up so roommate doesn't get mad

You'll hear from me soon, believe it:P

AthenaAlpha