Chapter 12
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Sasuke pushed his jacket off with a sigh, tossing his coat onto the chair and loosening his tie. He let his mind go hazy for a while, trying to erase any thought of Gaara from his mind. After the man's little…display (what the hell had that been, anyway?), the whole room had been on edge. Sasuke himself felt entirely strung out. Seeing that man, the way his cold eyes ran over Naruto's frame…
Sasuke scowled and raked his fingers through his hair. Keeping his mind blank was clearly impossible. It didn't help that the issues between him and Naruto were still not completely resolved. In fact, Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that the blond was avoiding him again- since he practically flew out of the boardroom when the meeting was over. Either that, or he was avoiding Gaara….Which didn't seem completely unlikely with the way he had been desperately dodging the man's gaze throughout the entire meeting. This, however, raised a whole new set of questions…
Sasuke undid the buttons on his shirt lazily, pulling open a lower drawer on his desk with his foot. He let the shirt fall to the ground and pulled a new one out of the desk. Sasuke had been itching to change every since he and Naruto had rolled in an ever-so-dignified manner on the men's room floor.
"Teme are you…." Sasuke froze, and his head shot up. Naruto stood in the doorway, his mouth falling open and his eyes going wide. Sasuke just stared at him, his dark eyes unreadable. He watched with hidden fascination as the blond's eyes slowly dropped to his bare chest. Sasuke let out a slow breath.
"Did you need something dobe?" He asked slowly, voice sounding less irritated than he would have liked. Was Naruto blushing?
"Uh…yeah, I…" Naruto swallowed and his eyes shot back up to Sasuke's stubbornly. "What the hell are you doing? Stripping in your office!?!" Sasuke couldn't help but smirk a little.
"You wish usuratonkachi." Naruto's eyes widened and his face turned a lovely shade of crimson.
"Please! No one wants to see that!" Sasuke was smirking fully now.
"Then stop gaping." At this, Naruto's mouth opened and closed with indignation, letting out slight and confused sputtering.
"What the hell teme!" Sasuke just shook his head and pulled the new shirt on, straightening the edges carefully. Naruto looked away, his face slowly adjusting to a soft shade of pink. Sasuke watched him out of the corner of his eye.
"Did you want something?" Sasuke repeated, letting an odd note of heat into his voice to see Naruto's reaction. He and Naruto had never had this kind of banter before. It was strangely exciting. The blond's eyes flickered up questioningly, and his fingers twitched.
"I just…About earlier…I shouldn't have hit you…" Sasuke walked around his desk and approached the blue-eyed man casually.
"It's not a big deal, usuratonkachi. I'm not made of glass." Naruto looked up, and his eyes widened a little as Sasuke grew closer. "…You hit like a girl, anyway." He added, now standing directly in front of the hot-headed blond. Naruto glared at him.
"Oh go to hell! You practically flew across the bathroom!" Sasuke sneered.
"Please. I had you pinned in seconds. That first punch was luck." Naruto glared and reached out, grabbing Sasuke's shirt. Part of Sasuke's brain complained about his new shirt being wrinkled. Sasuke promptly ignored it.
"You want another go, jack ass!?!" Naruto growled, pulling Sasuke's face closer and letting his gaze burn into the Uchiha's. Sasuke just smirked, and moved in, pressing Naruto against the office door. The blond's eyes flickered with confusion, and stared up at Sasuke with the most adorably puzzled blue eyes.
"…Sasuke?" He asked voice hesitant. Their chests were pressed together hard, and Sasuke's forehead was nearly resting against his. Sasuke's smirk had grown into a stern frown, and he caught Naruto's chin roughly.
"You never did tell me what was wrong, dobe." Naruto shifted uncomfortably and almost immediately his gaze fell. Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Usuratonkachi. You're not telling me something."
"I said it was nothing." Naruto felt hot all over. His mind was having trouble understanding the heat of Sasuke's body. Naruto could still see the man's chest, the firm planes of his abs and the strong arch of his shoulders….Naruto felt a strange desire to reach forward and pull that shirt off with the same kind of aggression he had felt when he had sucker punched the dark haired man earlier…
Sasuke scowled and tilted his head, ghosting his lips across the shell of the blond's ear.
"I don't believe you." He hissed, unable to keep a note of need out of his voice. God, he felt so helpless lately. It was driving him insane. Sasuke had never felt so out of control before. Why did he care so much? Naruto always acted like an idiot. Why in the hell did this new change annoy him so much? Couldn't he just be glad the blond was finally shutting up once in a while? "Tell me."
Naruto shuddered, amazed at how this kept happening to him. What was it with everyone lately? So touchy, so close, so…warm. God, it was hot.
"I just…did some thinking last night." Sasuke glared at the side of the blond's head. He smelled unnaturally good. What kind of man goes around smelling like vanilla? He'd been hanging around with Ino and Sakura too much.
"Mm…Rough night, then." Sasuke mused, and smirked lazily when Naruto growled. The blond's head whipped around to tell the Uchiha off. Unfortunately, his voice failed him the second he looked into those impossibly dark eyes that were so incredibly close right then. His breath came out shuddery and weak.
"Shut up." He murmured, unable to put any force into his words. What the hell was Sasuke doing to him, anyway?
"So you were thinking. About what?" Sasuke murmured, his eyes studying Naruto's with a sudden heightened interest. Naruto was a fool, that was true- but despite their constant arguing Sasuke had a great deal of respect for the blond. If Naruto looked so serious all of the sudden, it meant something big was going on.
"Look…it's just…lately things have been weird…with you and me…" The blond's gaze dropped again. "…and Gaara…" He added in a voice so soft Sasuke barely heard him. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed.
"Gaara? What does he have to do with any of this?" Naruto shifted, accidentally brushing their chests together. Sasuke's eyes narrowed with a mix of awareness and temper. The idea that that damn red head was involved set him suddenly on edge. Naruto's mouth opened, and he looked up at Sasuke nervously. The second he saw the flash of anger in Sasuke's eyes his voice failed him. I can't tell him. If I tell him…This merger means everything to him right now. What will he do if….I can't tell him.
"You just don't seem to like him very much." Naruto responded, his voice rather dry. Sasuke snickered.
"Oh? What make you think I don't like him?" Sasuke demanded, his voice holding a hint of dark humor. Naruto's cheeks flushed slightly.
"Do you?" Sasuke shrugged.
"I don't care. He's just a necessary step. Once this is over he'll…" Naruto's face darkened.
"Once this is over he'll what? Disappear? Evaporate? Is that what happens to people when you don't need them anymore? They disintegrate into nothingness!?!" Naruto snapped. Sasuke took a step back, confused by the sudden heat in Naruto's voice.
"What are you yelling for?" Sasuke growled, glancing at the door. The last thing he needed was the entire office hearing them scream at each other…again.
"You! You act like everyone's existence is hinged on how valuable they are to the great and powerful Sasuke!" Naruto hissed, his volume dropping briefly just to hitch back up again as he spoke. Sasuke glared at him.
"What in the hell are you on about?"
"You think you're so much better than everyone. You know what, I had a life before we met you know!"
"Oh yeah, eating cold pizza out of your lazy ass cousin's garage…"
"Oh go to hell! I could have been fine without you!"
"Who the hell cares? You're here, why are we even discussing this you…"
"BECAUSE I DON'T NEED YOU!" Naruto bellowed his eyes on fire. Sasuke took a step back, feeling suddenly cold all over. A strange ache caught in his chest, and he stared at Naruto with a look of sudden vulnerability that ripped viciously through the blond man's chest. Sasuke turned, his hair falling over his face creating a dark shadow.
"…Sasuke I…" The Uchiha's lips twisted into a scowl.
"What, dobe? You think I need you?" Sasuke sneered. "Please." Naruto's face fell, and the blond's eyes fell to the floor.
"Right…sure Sasuke." He pulled the door open, forcing Sasuke to move aside slightly. He slipped out the door, blue eyes unusually dull. "Sorry to bother you."
The door closed behind him, and Sasuke hit the wall, sliding down into an uncomfortable slump. His chest was burning, and his head throbbed. What was wrong with them lately? They couldn't seem to be in the same room together for five seconds without ripping each other apart.
And somehow, Sasuke couldn't help but think this was all Gaara's fault.
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Itachi ran his fingers lazily through the paperwork, smirking to himself. Well, this was getting more and more interesting. He hadn't thought it was possible, but there was actually someone with a more screwed up family than the Uchiha's.
"What do you want? What will it take to get you to keep quiet?" Kankuro demanded, eyeing the Uchiha with distaste. Itachi grinned.
"Do you have any idea what my little brother would do to you if he found out what you were up to?" Itachi mused, leaning back on his seat and looking around the bar lazily. Kankuro shifted uncomfortably.
"What do you want Uchiha?" Kankuro repeated his voice a dangerous growl. Itachi just continued to smirk.
"Such underhanded dealings! And playing with Naruto-kun's emotions like this. It's despicable." He commented, taking a drink of whiskey. Kankuro scowled.
"Because you're the prime judge of human morality." Kankuro grumbled, swirling the wine in his glass. Itachi grinned lazily. Itachi snickered.
"Touché. Be good, or I'll up the price. My little brother is counting on me, after all. What kind of brother would I be if I neglect to tell him his psychotic new business partner and that tricky blond secretary are conspiring to steal his dear Naru-kun?" Kankuro sighed.
"I already told you to name your price. What more do you want?"
"I have some…goods I need taken out of the country. Sabaku industries is sure to be able to pull some strings, ne?" Kankuro's eyes narrowed.
"What kind of goods?" Itachi grinned. Kankuro sighed again. "Never mind. I don't want to know." The Uchiha shrugged.
"Suit yourself. Do we have a deal?" Kankuro scowled.
"If the press finds out…" He growled warningly.
"It wouldn't do anyone any good if they did. Least of all me- I will have some very unhappy people on my hands if this transaction turns sour."
"You don't sound too worried." Kankuro returned dryly. Itachi gave him a wicked grin.
"That's because this transaction won't turn sour. Will it, Mizuki-san?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXAuthor's notes!
You see what I mean? I can't leave those two alone or they start arguing! Boys are dumb! (pouting). But never fear, FuzzySeduction! I have no intention of abandoning this story. I even have a second story lined up for when I'm finished with this one. (Giggles mischeviously) I'll give you a hit- Neji, Gaara and Sasuke all fighting over Naruto. God, I'm obsessed with love triangles…uh, squares….whatever.
My sister found this site over break that had a list of things Naruto characters would never say. She, of course, forgot the site and only remember bits and pieces of the jokes, so I was kind of annoyed. She kept laughing about it, but whenever she tried to explain it to me it was always a jumbled mess. Nevertheless, it inspired me to think of some of my own, in spite of myself. Here goes:
Neji: I must go consult my Ouji board…
Sakura: No this isn't my real hair color. Whose real hair color is pink, seriously?
Sasuke: Let me go change. I think I wore this outfit yesterday.
I had more, but now I left the list at home…I just remember that these three were my favorites. Especially the Neji one. Although I'm not sure I spelled Ouji right. Maybe it's Oujii…
Eh. No matter.