Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, it's actually made something I've written feel recognized!
And, as promised, reviews are rewarded with a hasty update. I have another idea swimming around in my head too, but just because you guys were awesome enough to review, I fought the ADD and stuck to it to get it done tonight.
Anyways, here's the second chapter. I might even name them eventually. You never know what!
Muddy Waters
Chapter 2
by Taka Momos
Naruto's eyes opened to see a mostly darkened room. He felt clean, warm, comfortable...
...naked?
He tried to sit up, still groggy. His usual nausea swept over him from not having eaten in days. He looked around the room, searching for any kind of clue as to where he was.
All he could see in the overwhelming darkness was the soft glow of a digital clock.
4:59.
He tried to fight through the confusion, dizziness, and fatigue, failing miserably. All he knew was that he was warm, comfortable, and clean, all things out of the ordinary. He was forced to lay down again, waves of dizziness finally taking over just as he realized that he was in a large, soft bed.
Naruto slipped back into an uneasy sleep, trying to escape from the usual misery.
Sasuke woke up around ten o'clock, not used to being woken up by the sun shining in his face. He eased himself off the couch and headed into the kitchen to start a cup of coffee. After he had started the coffee maker, Sasuke remembered the details of the night before. He walked with a carefully controlled sense of urgency to his bedroom, wondering if the blond has woken up before he had.
He cracked the door to see his new guest curled up in a ball, snoring lightly. He walked closer, smiling when he noticed the adorable string of drool that had escaped the bond's mouth. He reached down and brushed a stray strand of hair that had fallen in the boy's face. The sleeping teen groaned as he opened his eyes, finally focusing his blurry vision on Sasuke. The Uchiha smiled, almost letting it slip into a smirk.
"Good morning."
Naruto quickly looked away.
"Umm... hi..." It was so weak and quiet that Sasuke almost didn't hear it.
"Where am I?"
"My home. You passed out in a puddle, and from what you were dressed in I assumed you wouldn't mind if I brought you with me. What's your name?"
"N-naruto... what happened to my clothes?"
"I took them off and gave them to the help to be washed. You'll get them back later today if they survive the wash... how did you end up sleeping in a parking garage? I'm guessing stupidity isn't the only reason..."
A blush ran across Naruto's face. Here he was, practically naked in a strange, but no half0bad looking, man's bed being insulted about being poor. His blush deepend when he thought about how exactly his clothes came off.
"It's a long story..."
Sasuke quickly realized his mistake as an awkward silence fell between the two.
"So, uhh... do you want some breakfast? Maybe some eggs and toast, or some bacon?"
Naruto's head whipped up at the offer of food. He was so hungry...
"Yes, please..." He tried not to sound as desperate as he really was, part of his pride that refused to die even when he was broken. He still had some self-respect...
"Ok, I'll be back in a minute with it."
While Sasuke was gone fixing the food, Naruto looked the room over. It looked so... expensive! A huge TV on the wall facing the bed, furniture that looked like they had cost more than he was worth, the sheets even felt like they were made of silk. He was almost afraid to touch anything!
The fifteen minutes Sasuke was gone felt more like an eternity. An eternity of sitting and waiting in an empty, unfamiliar room...
He finally returned carrying two large plates of eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of orange juice delicately balanced on each plate. The blond's eyes widened. There was more food in his hands than he'd seen in at least a month! The Uchiha placed the plates down on the table by the bed, finally placing the glasses on a stable surface before handing the blond his food.
Sasuke could only stare as the blond engulfed his food, practically cramming it down his throat. He had barely even finished one piece of toast before Naruto had finished. Sasuke cought lightly to get the other's attention.
"Erm... would you like the rest of mine?"
"Can I!? I mean, you don't mind?"
"Sure, go ahead. Knock yourself out."
Naruto attacked the second plate just as aggressively, devouring the food as it if were the first food he'd seen in days.
"It probably is..."
The blond gave a contented sigh as he leaned back, satisfied. Sasuke again found himself lost in the brilliant blue eyes that were made all the more beautiful by the cheeky smile the blond was now wearing.
He was so lost in admiring the blond that another awkward silence had slipped between them, giving Naruto more than enough time to notice how the darker-haired teen was grinning like an idiot. He snapped out of his de when the blond began to speak.
"C-can I get some clothes?"
"Huh? Oh, sure. Just grab anything out of the dresser that fits. Come and get me when you change."
With a flip of his hand in the general direction of a large, intimidating dresser, the Uchiha left his new friend to change.
Sasuke looked up from his laptop when he heard his bedroom door finally open. Naruto stood there wearing a pair of shorts that barely stayed up and a shirt twice his size with Uchiha emblazoned on the back. Sasuke felt waves of warmth radiate from deep inside him at the sight, barely catching himself before he was caught grinning like an idiot once again.
Naruto slowly made his way over to the table that Sasuke was sitting at. He made sure to be careful as he pulled the chair to Sasuke's right out just far enough for him to sit down.
"You... didn't tell me your name."
"Hn. Sasuke."
"Oh..." Naruto twiddled his thumbs in an attempt to entertain himself. The other seemed lost in whatever he was doing, the clicking of keys being the only noise in the room.
"So, what are you doing?"
"Managing my stocks."
"Your what?"
The furious clicking stopped as the Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the question.
"My stocks. You buy them? It's basically buying tiny pieces of a company."
"Oh... so that's why you do?"
"In my spare time. I mainly work as the CEO of my brother's company."
The clicking of keys began once again as his attention was focused back on the screen.
"Wha-... but how? You look like you aren't any older than me."
"I'm 18."
"Yeah, well, I'm 17. But how could an 18 year old be a CE3 of anything?"
"CEO. And I'm smart, I'd already started college by the time I was 16. Everyone in our family has."
Naruto once again felt his usual feeling creep up his neck. That feeling of misplacement- being somewhere he didn't belong. He looked down at his reflection in the glass table, just now noticing how gray the room was. Dark grays, black, white, it was just so lifeless.
His jolted back to reality when he heard the snap of the laptop being shut.
Sasuke picked it up under his arm and made his way over to the couch, Naruto following close behind for a reason he didn't even know himself. An older, monotone voice spread through the apartment as the news was turned on and Sasuke fell back onto the couch. He gave Naruto a look that suggested he do the same.
Naruto pulled his knees up to his chest as he felt the couch engulf him. It was a comfortable couch, but the feeling of being sucked into furniture was certainly a new experience. Sasuke gave an inaudible chuckle at the expression on the blond's face.
After an hour of watching the news, Sasuke had learned quite a bit about Naruto. He used to live in an orphanage, and after an entire life of bouncing in and out, never being taken by a family for more than a week, he was turned to the streets when he turned 16. He had never really thought about what happens to the children that don't get adopted by the time they're almost adults.
Since then, Naruto had lived on the streets, finding food where he could, shelter where it looked safe, and clothes where they might be discarded. He felt pangs of sympathy whenever he heard a specifically tragic part about the other teen's life, something his ice-cold heart had never had in recent memory. He even smiled when the blond went off about how much fun he had watching the old men play chess in the park, or about a school teacher who had tried to teach him after school.
The teacher was apparently like a father-figure to him, but it had been months seen he'd seen the man. Apparently there was even talk about him being taken into the man's home, but they hadn't come to a decision before Naruto lost touch with him.
Sasuke noticed that the entire time he'd be listening the other boy had relaxed, almost the point that he was right beside him. Sasuke took the opportunity to slowly wrap an arm around the other's waist, pulling him back into his chest. Naruto looked up him, eyes covered by blond bangs, and gave a half smile. He'd have to take it slow, not wanting to make the other think that he was trying to use him.
He felt the breath he didn't know he was holding release when Naruto began laughing again and talking about a garbage collector he would talk to every now and then. Apparently the man's son had once gotten in a fight with him over a blanket he'd been using. They had become good friends after that, he even got to ride on the truck once apparently.
It amazed Sasuke how little it took to amuse Naruto. Old men playing chess was certainly not at the top of his list of things to watch later that night. But he found it cute, much in contrast to the usual annoyance he'd feel over such petty entertainment.
They sat there like that for an hour or two more, learning more and more about each other. Sasuke actually felt as if he'd made an amount of progress in his relationship with the blond.
Author's Note:So, the same deal from the first chapter goes with this one- if you guys review, I'll post another chapter up as fast as I can!
Also, once this story goes up I should be able to do some beta-reviewing. Not that it impacts my stories in any way, just thought I'd aid the prostitution of my services a little bit.
Meh... anyways, thanks in advance for reviews!