Riayu:
I won't waste too much time up here; I know you want to get to the fic.Itachi: Then why are you talking at all?
Riayu: 'Cause I'm a little sad that no one reviewed while I was gone.
Itachi: Are you trying to guilt people into reviewing more for this chapter?
Riayu: Yes. I love you all so much for reading my story, and thank you to everyone who has reviewed!
Disclaimer: I'm a crappy drawer! There's no way I own Naruto!
At first Naruto was a startled by the sound of the phone ringing; to him it sounded like a panic alarm sounding through the haze of sleep. He rolled over, felt the restraint of arms around his waist, and reached down to disentangle himself before lurching towards the phone.
"Hello?" he asked groggily, rubbing the sand from his eyes.
"Is this Naruto?" an unfamiliar voice asked from the other line.
"Who is this?" Naruto asked warily. "How did you get my phone number?"
"Naruto, I'm…Kyuubi didn't want to give me your cell phone number."
"Why the hell would Kyuubi give you my number?" He was beginning to wonder if it was all some sort of weird prank his brother was pulling.
"He thought it would be best if we talked." The blonde was suddenly aware that the voice was feminine. It was familiar, one that instilled calm in him despite the fact that he couldn't have heard it more than a handful of times.
"Mom?" he asked, his heart picking up as he said it. There was a sharp intake of breath on the other line, then a pause, and finally, a sort of stifled sob.
"You called me mom," was the response, choked with unbelieving happiness. "Your father and I are coming down in a week. There's an operation…it's very likely that it can fix your blindness. Since it was just an accident they might be able to right what went wrong." Naruto's throat closed up and there was an undeniable burn behind his eyes. He struggled to find coherent words. There was the sound of sheets shifting and a deep breath, indicating that Sasuke was awakening.
"I, uh…" the blonde struggled to swallow the lump in his throat, "I have to go, mom. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay," was the reply, choked again with a smile clear in her voice. Naruto hung up the phone just as Sasuke's eyes fluttered opened. Naruto was standing close enough to the bed that Sasuke could reach out and wrap his arms around the blonde's waist.
"Who was on the phone?" Sasuke asked. The question sounded intimate to Naruto, said in a sleepy lisp that signified a close relationship.
"My mom," Naruto said, marveling at how simple it sounded when there were so many emotions whirling within him.
"What'd Iruka want?" the brunette asked, pulling Naruto back onto the bed.
"It wasn't Iruka; it was my mom. My birth mother." Sasuke was silent, digesting the information. "They're coming up next week. She said they could fix my eyes; I'll be able to see." It was just beginning to sink in; sight, the ability to see. Elation flared up within him at the realization that he would, for the first time, be able to see the sexy Sasuke that was holding him by the waist at that very moment.
Sasuke, on the other hand, was not elated in the least. If Naruto got his sight back he would have to leave; Naruto would no loner rely on him for everyday things.
"Sasuke?" Naruto asked when Sasuke didn't say anything.
"That's," Sasuke swallowed to banish the dryness of his throat, "that's great, Naruto." The blonde picked up the hollow tone of voice and took one of Sasuke's hands, squeezing it gently.
"Don't worry, Sasuke," he said, playing with the brunette's fingers idly. "I'll be fine; they can't mess me up more than I already am." Sasuke couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from lifting up. The blonde had tried so hard to reassure him, but had missed the target completely.
"Thanks," Sasuke murmured.
"You're smiling!" Naruto shouted, spinning to face Sasuke as if he would be able to see the slight twist of lips.
"I think you're hallucinating," Sasuke said, getting out of the bed and pulling Naruto up with him. "You need some food. What do you want?" They walked out of the room, their fingers laced together as they went.
"How about western style? Chocolate chip waffles and eggs, and sausage, and toast…Sasuke?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever cooked before?"
"Only in school, but I'm good at it," Sasuke said reassuringly. He dropped the blonde's warm hand so he could get started. His palm tingled with the left-over warmth from Naruto's hand and he longed to hold it again.
"How did this happen?" Sasuke wondered quietly as he washed his hands then started o gather the ingredients. The last thing he expected was for Naruto to answer him.
"Well, you kissed me yesterday; I assumed that meant you liked me." The blonde said, sitting down and waiting, his stomach growling as the smell of food wafted about. Drinks were poured and silverware put out. Sasuke sat next to Naruto as they ate, though not too close; he didn't want to scare the blonde off. To Sasuke's surprise, the blonde scooted closer, their shoulders and thighs brushing as they ate. Halfway through their meal, Naruto's cell phone rang from the couch. Sasuke got up and answered it. He talked for a few minutes before returning to the table.
"Who was it?" Naruto asked, unaccustomed to asking such a question.
"It was Kyuubi," Sasuke said, pushing his plate away with pale hands. "He's going on a date with Itachi." Naruto, who had been drinking orange juice, promptly spit it out, coughing and puttering.
"What?!" he yelled, turning sightless eyes on the brunette.
"Apparently they met at the club and started talking over drinks. Itachi decided to drop the whole pinned-against-the-wall thing, and Kyuubi seems unable to hold a grudge."
"Where are they going? When are they going?" Naruto asked, standing up.
"Kyuubi said it was a surprise. Naruto, calm down. It's not like Itachi will kill him."
"That's just the thing," Naruto said gravely. "He just might. He's the one who told me to drive even though I was drunk. He's the one who dragged me to that stupid party and told me to drink the sake. He's the one," Sasuke heard the sob and looked up sharply. Naruto – sunny happy Naruto- was crying. "He's the one who made me blind." The blonde sobbed again, looking pathetic.
"Naruto," Sasuke was at a loss of what to do. The pained expression on the blonde's face ripped his heart. On a sudden whim, the brunette stood and enveloped the blonde in his arms, holding him close. Naruto shook, burying his face in the black fabric of Sasuke's shirt as he cried. He rocked the blonde gently, kissed the top of his head, and held him closer. After a few minutes the blonde calmed, his sobs quieting to hiccups, and finally he fell silent.
"I just don't want him to be hurt," Naruto murmured, his voice hoarse.
"I understand, Naruto, I really do," Sasuke said, stroking the blonde, spiky hair.
"Thank you," Naruto said, his voice a little stronger. The brunette nodded, releasing Naruto with the slightest of a smile. "Does this mean that we're dating?" He smiled feebly, his pale-blue eyes red-rimmed and glossy, a slight hope lingering in them.
"No," Sasuke said, the blonde's face falling immediately. "We can be dating if I haven't taken you out anywhere Ichiraku's doesn't count," he added when the blonde opened his mouth. "You went there with Hinata and that didn't count as a date; and I did the same exact thing when we went."
"Okay, where are you going to take me?" Naruto asked, looking expectant. Sasuke paused, trying to figure out what the blonde meant.
"You mean today?" Sasuke finally asked.
"Or tomorrow, whenever you want, really…Sooner rather than later would be better, though, since I don't know when I'll be able to go out again after the operation."
"We'll go out this afternoon, then," Sasuke said, kissing the blonde's forehead. With that they finished their meal, Sasuke wondering where he should take the blonde on their first date. He realized, very suddenly, that there were very few things they could do together because of the blonde's lack of sight.
When they were done Sasuke cleared the table. The blonde vanished in a moment, the tell-tale tick-tick sound of the typewriter sounding immediately. When Sasuke was done cleaning he joined Naruto and picked up the pages of the manuscript and his pen then started reading aloud, causing Naruto to stop typing and listen. They had started all over again; Sasuke was much more thorough than Hinata and questioned every little thing. The result was the major editing of the story, making it three or four times better. It was nearly noon before they stopped, having corrected around a hundred pages. Sasuke dismissed himself to make a phone call.
"Come on, usuratonkachi," Sasuke said when he returned. "Shower and get dressed, we're going out."
"Where are we going?" Naruto asked as he stood, his eyes glimmering.
"It's a surprise," Sasuke said, dragging the blonde towards the bathroom. He pushed into the clean room, the shower sounding a moment later. He ran to his room, pulled on a pair of black cargo pants and a tight black shirt, then he went into Naruto's room and searched for anything in t the closet that wasn't orange. He was rewarded with a pair of black jeans and a grey T-shirt. The door opened and Naruto came in with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Hello, Sasuke," he said, nudging the door closed with his hip before crossing to his dresser and pulling out a pair of boxers. The towel dropped, exposing the blonde completely o Sasuke's roaming eyes. Sasuke coughed as he brought his hands up to stifle a nosebleed. Naruto pulled on his boxers, smiling slightly.
"Are you okay, Sasuke, I smell blood." Naruto said, pulling on the pants and shirt Sasuke had set aside before taking a issue and handing it to the brunette.
"You did that on purpose," Sasuke accused, half scowling and half smiling.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto said, smiling. He dried his hair thoroughly with a towel, the blonde locks standing up without the help of gel.
"Ready when you are, teme," Naruto said. He held out his hand and Sasuke took it, the warm soft flesh sending hot prickles up and down his arms as he led the way out of the house and opened the car door for the blonde. The car wove through the streets, stopping in front of a proud building titled 'Museum.' Sasuke led the blonde inside the building and through rooms with paintings and objects of high value and into a room full of sculptures. There was a squat man standing in the middle of the room that ran over to the two of them immediately.
"Uchiha Sasuke?" the man asked, eyeing the brunette skeptically. When Sasuke nodded curtly the man frowned. "Very well, just don't break anything." The man walked away and slid the door shut behind him, leaving the two of them alone.
"Where are we?" Naruto asked after a short pause.
"A museum," Sasuke said, taking the blonde's hand and guiding him towards the closest statue, a tall woman dressed in a kimono with her head bent so that she could look at the child held in her arms. "I convinced the curator to allow you to touch the sculptures so you would know what they looked like." He lifted the blonde's hand and placed the fingertips gently on the statue's face.
Naruto felt the face, his fingertips tracing the lines of the lips and eyes, the nose and cheekbones and hair, then he used both hands to feel the rest of the sculpture. His fingers lingered on the baby's face as he felt it over and over again. Then they moved on to the next statue and the process was repeated.
"Aren't you tired of watching me touch sculptures?" Naruto asked after nearly two hours. He was feeling the bare chest of a man lying on his side with a cloth draped casually over his waist and crotch.
"Not yet," Sasuke said, watching the blonde's fingers contently. "You feel every sculpture differently; the first one you touched it with slow, tender fingers and this one with quick movements of you palms over the features. It's very interesting. There was a short pause as Naruto felt the cloth and thighs.
"Each sculpture is an individual, and each needs to be seen as such," Naruto said, smiling at Sasuke as he set his hands at his sides. "Have I run out of sculptures?"
"Yes," Sasuke said as he looked around. The blonde had explored every sculpture in the room, leaving them with nothing more to do in the museum. Sasuke took the blonde's hand and led the way out of the building and down onto the crowded sidewalk. Naruto's stomach grumbled loudly, alerting everyone in a five foot radius that the blonde was hungry.
"Ramen?" Sasuke asked casually, still holding the blonde's hand as they walked towards the parked car. Naruto was silent for a moment as he took his seat and buckled his seatbelt, waiting for Sasuke to climb in on the driver's side.
"Do you want to go for ramen?" Naruto asked quietly.
"I don't care what we eat," Sasuke said, starting the car.
"I want to go someplace that you like," Naruto said, feeling a little selfish; they always only went where he wanted to go.
"Okay," Sasuke said, putting his arm around Naruto as he drove, noting the troubled expression on the blonde's face. "Well go for sushi." There lunch was pleasant as they talked about nothing in particular. The recording was going to start in a few days and the recording of a music video was already being looked into. They talked at length about what sort of video should be made and to which song. Slowly conversation shifted to Naruto's books, three of which were already being looked at for publication in a few weeks. They were both excited, though, about the very same thing, though neither of them spoke of it. The blonde would be able to see again for the first time in two years.
"Thanks for taking me out, Sasuke," Naruto said on the drive back to the house. Sasuke was going to take a shower and grab his clothes before they left for an evening at the club.
Sasuke had been in the shower for nearly five minutes when Naruto's cell phone rang. The blonde dashed for it, stubbing his toe against the door frame in his haste before snatching up the phone and answering it.
"Hello?" he asked, slightly breathless.
"Naruto, am I interrupting something?" Pein asked, clearly curious.
"No, I just ran for the phone and stubbed my toe. What's up?" The blonde sat back on the couch, spreading out luxuriously as he listened to Pein, who was talking very quickly.
"I'm going on a date tonight! With Itachi."
"YOU'RE WHAT?!" Naruto screamed, his eyes bulging slightly.
"Going on a date with Itachi," Pein repeated, sounding a little afraid.
"Why on earth would you do something that stupid, Pein? He's the one that…" something very suddenly occurred to the blonde. "How can you be going on a date with Itachi if Kyuubi is going on a date with Itachi?"
"We're going together, the three of us!" Pein said, sounding happy again.
"So…you're okay with him dating someone else?" Naruto asked.
"Well, I'm also going on a date with Kyuubi, so technically we're equal."
"I'm confused," Naruto said, sighing.
"Well, Kyuubi asked me out this morning and Itachi asked him out. When Kyuubi told Itachi he already had plans they discussed me and Itachi decided the three of us would go out together."
"And you're telling me all of this now why?" Naruto asked, wishing he knew what time it was.
"I tried to call earlier but you left your phone at home and you didn't answer."
"I was home until noon."
"I got home from work at one."
"Where are you guys going?" Naruto asked, trying to assume a nonchalant attitude.
"I'm not sure. Kyuubi and I were going to go out for dinner, but Itachi is taking both of us out and we're not sure where he's taking us." There was a pause and a few muffled words. "Kyuubi's here, I have to go, Naruto. Talk to you later." There was a click then the disconnected tone.
"Ready to go, Naruto?" Sasuke asked. He was dried and dressed, leaning against the doorjamb and waiting patiently for the blonde.
"Yeah," Naruto said, smiling slightly as he stood and walked over to Sasuke, seizing the brunettes hand as they walked out to the car, the first drops of rain beginning to fall.
Itachi: Was that an intentional cliffie?
Riayu: That isn't a cliffie! I don't think it is, anyways.
Itachi: Whatever you say.
Riayu: Good news everyone! Lemon next chapter!
Itachi: If I'm the bad guy, why did you put me with your favorite characters?
Riayu: 'Cause you're one of my favorite characters, and it will probably piss someone off.
Itachi: Is your goal to get people upset?
Riayu: No. I was actually thinking about ItaPein before anyone mentioned it. I think it's kinda cute.
Itachi: Vein pulse Did you just say something involving my name was cute?
Riayu: I'll say it again, if you want. Turns away from Itachi Thanks for the reviews, and for reading, and for waiting sooooo long. Sorry about that, I was at camp, ya'know.
Itachi: Turning red
Riayu: Like you don't like it. Cookies for all! Passes out tins of cookies And hugs too!!