Thank you so much everyone for the comments last week! You guys are so sweet ^_^ That's why even though I was busy today, I stayed up until 4 in the morning to finish this for you all. If there were little virtual cookies I could send everyone, I would, lol.
Comments = faster new chap! Although next week, I'll be gone for a retreat of a kind. No computers allowed, but maybe I'll be able to write something in my notebook and post it the week after.
Thank You!
Today had been awful- well with the exception of the time I spent with Sakura. Naruto and I spent so much time apart today that I feel sick. Dizzy almost, like something inside me was flickering between two places. Images of the living room and the path I walked were so constantly interchanging that I had to blink so often or keep closed my eyes. I knew these images where what Naruto was seeing and this only happens when Partners are far away from each other for so long.
Home was the mansion only a few blocks away from the school. It was the one with the blue trim and large front yard of perfect green and a circular driveway. The lights were on and I saw shadows moving across closed curtains. Naruto was here, I could feel him. I entered the warm house and was instantly bombarded by Naruto's parents.
"Finally, Sasuke!" cried Kushina, the mother. "What happened? Why weren't you with Naruto?"
Partners are supposed to always to be with each other, so naturally she'd be upset as to why we weren't. She looked me up and down, her hands gripping my shoulders tightly while Minato only stood silently in the back.
"Didn't Naruto tell you?" I shrugged out of her grasp. "He fucking left me when school got out."
"Language," murmured Minato.
"Left you?" Kushina's face turned confused. "Why would he leave you?"
"I don't know!" I didn't feel like explaining it all, especially the part with Naruto taking advantage of my blood. That was something between us as Partners, not for parents. "I went to out to hang with some kids from school, Naruto didn't want to come, we fought, he left."
Kushina frowned. "Oh, I see." She turned away. "Why don't you put your backpack up in your room, have a talk with Naruto while you're at it, and then," she turned back to face me, her face very serious, "I want to have a talk with you about Partner devotion."
"What?" Naruto needed that talk, not me!
"You abandoned your Partner for some friends Sasuke," said Minato.
"Because of what he had done earlier!"
"Whatever he did is between you two, but remember, loyalty to your Partner is always first."
"Easy for you," I yelled. "You married your Partner!"
With that, I stormed past the two of them without even looking at them, marched up the marble staircase, and down the white hallway. Before opening the door to our room, I took a quick and deep breath, knowing Naruto was in there and had heard the whole thing.
Yet when I opened the door, I found him asleep, curled on my bed. Guess he was feeling ill too. I didn't even realize the flickering images had stopped when he fell asleep. But it didn't matter now. We were finally together again, even though I was still pissed at him. I took a few steps toward him, instantly feeling better, yet there was now a pounding ache in my head.
"Hey, dope" I poked his forehead. "You're in my bed." He continued to snore peacefully. I sighed, brought my face close to his, took a deep breath and yelled- "BASTARD!"
He startled awake. "The hell, Sasuke?" He rubbed his ear. "What was that for?"
"You're in my bed."
He sat up and looked around sleepily. "Oh, you're right."
"Of course I am."
He scooted out and pulled a chair from the computer desk. I in turn sat on the edge of my bed, fumbling through my backpack for some homework to do. I refused to be the one to bring up today's incidents.
"You're a bastard, you know," he finally said.
"You're the one who left your own Partner."
"And you prefer to spend time with those idiots than your Partner."
"Sakura is not an idiot!" I cried.
The blonde's face turned white.
"Whatever. I gotta go," he muttered
And he left, the door slamming behind him. He didn't leave the house, but once again he left me.
The room seemed emptier without my roommate. Two sides of the room, empty. My side had a bed neatly made, drawers tucked in and various small objects organized in neat rows on shelves. It also incorporated colors of various shades of blue. In contrast, Naruto's side had a bed with covers askew, clothes threatening to spill out from his drawers, and whatever assortments that decorated his side were placed chaotically on limited shelf space. His side also incorporated colors of orange.
What was happening? How different can partners be? I occasionally asked myself, and yet it worked. It was like we were such opposites, halves of each other, and together completed the whole, but now the whole had a crack.
I spent the next couple hours pondering this and my homework, waiting for Naruto to come back for dinner. I wasn't going down there after all, I didn't feel much like talking to my guardians. I should apologize though. They took me in the second I was matched with their son, that and the fact I had no parents. For my brother Itachi it didn't matter whether they were dead or alive. He was already adopted by his Partner, Kisame's family the second he was matched with their son. And now that I think of it, whenever I had the chance to visit him, he and Kisame seemed so… in sync; so in touch with each other.
"Sasuke?" a knock at the door followed. It was Minato.
"Come in," I called.
He entered the room, his yellow hair seeming brighter than usual. He looked so much like Naruto sometimes, or rather the other way around. As always, before a talk he crossed his arms and leaned casually against the wall.
"You and Naruto seem to be having a rough time. It's not my place to ask about it, but anything Kushina and I can help?"
I shook my head. "I know him better than anyone. We'll work it out." Hopefully.
"You sure? Anyway, have the either of you fed yet for dinner? The nurse called today to say Naruto had fainted and I just want to make sure you two aren't skipping out on meals."
"We're not. Just send him up."
He sighed and turned to go, "Alright then."
A few moments later, he entered.
"Hurry up and feed. My favorite show is on," Naruto grumbled as he clicked the door closed.
I walked over to him and put a hand over his neck, with the other I placed on his shoulder as I leaned up and before biting, whispered, "We both know your show isn't on today." Then I drank, and though his blood always tasted so good, I drank less than usual tonight. Truth was I still felt nauseas.
"Not hungry?" the blonde asked sourly.
I shook my head.
"Me neither. I'm skipping out on dinner tonight." And he turned to go.
A spark of anger ignited within me. I caught his wrist as his hand was about to turn the knob and yelled, "Stop doing this!"
He looked right back at me with his own glare. "Stop what?"
My face grew red when I realized what I was about to say.
"Nevermind," I muttered. I released my grip and tried backing away when Naruto caught my wrist now.
"No, now I need to know." He squeezed my wrist.
The bastard was really going to make me say!
"Stop…" My voice faded.
"What?"
"Stop it…" This was embarrassing!
"Spit it out, Sasuke."
The fire reignited. "Would you stop leaving me, bastard?"
God, that was painful to say!
He let go of my wrist which I rubbed it tenderly, watching the faint red fingertips disappear. I chanced a glance at Naruto's face and was surprised that instead of finding him as angry as before, instead his face was softened.
"You're right. I've left you alone too many times today."
Just like that he's not angry? "You're damn right," I said, wary.
He grinned half-heartedly. "Your such a pain-in-the-ass to manage, you know?"
"Fucking bastard!" Was he really back to normal?
"And you have a potty mouth."
"Dope," I shouldered past him and opened the door. "Let's finish the rest of our homework downstairs." Were we ever going to get back to normal?
I entered our dimly lit room, and undressed into a pair of loose shorts and t-shirt while Naruto was brushing his teeth in the bathroom. The moon shone directly upon the window and, with my hand upon the lamp's switch, I stared right back at the round object in the sky enjoying the sense of peace before switching off the light.
I crawled underneath my covers, enjoying its warmth. For what seemed like hours, I lay awake not being able to fall asleep, promptly throwing off the covers, as the room started to feel too warm. When was Naruto coming to bed?
It felt like only a second had passed when I woke up to a figure sitting next to me and a cold hand over my head. I instantly knew it was Naruto. The hand felt nice, like it was cooling my aching body.
"You know you've got a fever, Sasuke."
I disregarded this and reached out my own hand to his forehead.
"You feel a little warm too," I whispered, gazing through droopy eyes at his outline in the darkness.
"Yeah, but not as bad as you."
"My mother again," I whispered, sleep beginning to overtake me.
"Oh no," he lifted my head up gently. "You're drinking this before falling back asleep." A small cup was held up to my lips and I obediently let it pass and swallowed, frowning at its taste.
"What was that?"
"Medicine. Human medicine for your fever."
"Thanks. I guess." And I turned onto my side, my back facing him. He was here, in the same room. I could finally really sleep.
Right as I was about to drift off into a better slumber, a body entered underneath the covers and warmth embraced me.
"What are you doing?" I asked, instantly waking. "Are you hungry?" He did skip dinner after all.
"No," he whispered against my neck. "I just wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away because I want to sleep."
"Have you kissed Sakura yet?"
What a strange question for him to ask. And why would he want to know anyway?
"Only on my cheek and forehead. Why?"
He sat up and swung himself to sit on my waist.
"Because," he started. I wasn't sure what to do. I tried seeing through the darkness upon his face, but it was useless. What was he doing? "I wanted to do it first."
He quickly leaned forward and a pair of soft lips fitted so perfectly against mine, and moved so slowly, so hesitantly. I didn't kiss back. I was too stricken in shock.
"Wha-?" I couldn't even form a sentence.
"Sasuke?"
Yet I wasn't as mad as I should be.
"Stay with me tonight," I asked.
With that, Naruto crawled off my stomach and lay next to me like he always did when we were younger.
I couldn't love the both of them.
