Chapter 3 Cat's Cradle
T Minus 18 Days
The flat ringing of his cell startled him out of a dreamless slumber and he cursed the gods of technology for it. It'd been a while since he'd had a good night's rest and he was feeling the strain more often of late.
"Y'ello?" He slurred.
"Naruto?" A soft, effeminate voice filtered through the speaker, "Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Sakura." He murmured groggily as he pulled the sheets off and sat up, squinting at the analog clock that read 10:30 am. Sakura, ever so punctual. "It's okay, I needed a wake up call."
"A what call?"
She, like most productive, healthy crème de la crème of society, was of the opinion that sleeping in past 10 should be illegal. He laughed as he made his way to the bathroom. "What were you calling about?"
"Oh!" She squealed, "Guess what? I got a promotion today!"
"What? Congratulations Sakura! That's amazing! Did you tell Ino yet?"
"No! She's out of town for that fashion show. You're the first one I called!"
"That's great Sakura! You definitely deserve it." He made his way to the kitchen to get started on brunch.
"Thanks Naruto!" She squeaked, "I'm so excited! Starting monday, I get to work directly with Sasuke! You remember him right?"
He winced internally. He should've been used to this by now.
"Of course! You call just to remind me every other day. How could I forget?" His laugh seemed fake even to him, but she didn't question it.
"I'm so excited! I met him in the lounge the day before last and he smiled at me! I really think I have a chance, Naruto!" She gushed.
"That's great." He murmured, but his waning excitement for her wasn't noticed in the slightest. "It's a dream come true for you, huh?"
"That's right!" She squealed. Since elementary they had been unable to withhold their enthusiasm from each other. Best friends since young and all that. "What about you? How have you been? How's Gaara and everyone?"
"Ah. They're all good! Chaotic as usual, but they do good work." He chuckled, grateful for the change in topic. When Sakura had good news, she would often interrogate him, looking for any aspect in his life where she could butt in - with good intentions, of course, - in order to share the happiness. He plated his eggs and hash browns, a simple breakfast only because he was too tired for more elaborate cooking.
"Of course! I should've guessed!" Her soft laughter chimed throughout his flat. Her voice seemed nonmaterial, the occasional cackle interrupting it from the speakerphone. He made his way to the sofa, his customary brunch spot, and turned on the television as she kept chattering. He knew her well; sometimes she only needed an ear, not a response. Yet, when he alighted on a cooking channel - halfway through a particularly difficult method of marinating rough meat for a steak - her last sentence sunk in.
"-engaged, but you don't think so, right?"
Snapping out of his reverie, he chucked sheepishly. "I didn't catch that last part, what did you say?" He stared intently at the black phone.
"Geez, Naruto. I asked you whether you think he's actually engaged. I mean, its not like I believe the rumours either but there's always some element of truth to them. So it might be wrong just to completely dismiss it, right?"
"Yeah," he agreed after a slight pause.
"Yes? To what? You think he might be engaged?"
He knew that Sakura wanted someone to assuage her fears, to tell her that there was a chance for her. And yet, he couldn't be that person. Not when he himself couldn't be sure about anything regarding his so-called lover.
He exhaled. "Well, nothing in the world is sure. You might want to ask him yourself since you're working with him now."
He knew it was vindictive; part of him wanted Sakura to be turned down by Sasuke. He also knew it wasn't going to happen. Sasuke would say what he always said; 'No, I'm not in a relationship and I'm not interested in one at the moment.' Still, a part of him wanted to be proven wrong. The part of him that was selfish and gave him uneasy spasms of anxiety in the pit of his stomach whenever he flitted on that issue. Maybe, possibly, he thought, he would be more settled if Sasuke acknowledged that he was in a relationship. But that was selfish to ask.
Sakura sighed dejectedly over the phone, and his chest constricted at the sound.
He was becoming a terrible person, wishing heartbreak on someone as kind and sweet as Sakura. And what for? For the dregs of a relationship that had become more of an affair, a sex-friends relationship? Maybe they were better as friends, like the good ol' days. When had there become a distinction between the good and the bad days? What was left for them now? But then, he was getting lost in those darks thoughts again, and the phone was barking at him.
"Naruto!"
"Ah! Sakura, sorry! I kinda zoned out there." He laughed it off.
"Are you okay Naruto? I've been calling you for 2 minutes there." The lilt in her tone confessed her concern. He could almost taste her near-palpable worry.
"Just great!" He laughed, "Still sleepy, I guess. I might go take a nap."
Ever the tactful friend, Sakura took the cue for what it was, quickly bid her friend well, and hung up.
The deafening silence that followed felt like both an affliction and a relief. Talking to Sakura was straining, but it was also dangerous to be alone with his thoughts. Which, was why a couple hours later, he ended up at the movie theatre licking butter off his fingers while Gaara looked on with disdain.
"That's enough, Naruto. We didn't watch an explicit comedy just to fuel your lewd imaginations."
"Are you offering?" The blond waggled his eyebrows suggestively, making more obscene gestures with his hands.
To his delight, this was met with a rare quirk of the lips, and an even rarer chuckle. Shooting the redhead an impish grin, he said with no small amount of sincerity, "Thanks for coming with me, Gaara."
"Of course, Naruto." The smirk slipped into a minuscule smile. "We were going to have dinner tonight anyways."
"Right!" Naruto crowed, "What did you want to eat? We have time to go grocery shopping right now."
"Curry."
"Heh," the blond gibed. "You can't handle the spice!" And to Gaara's great and utter dismay, the blonde flourished an arm in a flagrant manner, attracting the attention of a small flock of movie-goers. While, he ended up on the other end of the blond's buttery finger and apish grin. Heat burned in his pale cheeks as he grabbed the finger - blond and all - and towed him out of the building.
"I can't take you anywhere." Gaara shook his head with an exasperated sigh. The blond, still grinning as he was relinquished, quickly righted himself. Gaara wiped his now-dirty hand on his pants as they headed for the grocers.
The sun had set by the time they finished dinner, followed by an unhealthy (and seemingly impossible) portion of marbled ice cream. Naruto almost expected Gaara to ask, but to his surprise, Gaara instead suggested that they head down to the coffee shop attached to the lobby. They were both sleepy after the movie and needed a good shot of caffeine.
A five-minute elevator ride later, the twosome stood in front of the shop when Naruto very eloquently said, "Oh."
"Forgot they closed early today." Gaara intoned. Then turning away, he added, "We'll go to the Starbucks down the street."
Naruto dutifully followed, though they quickly found that the Starbucks seven blocks away had also closed.
"Hm," Gaara grunted. "We'll go to this coffee shop I know that's open late."
Never one to quit, Naruto let Gaara lead the way, musing about his friend's addiction to that caffeinated goodness. Exactly 15 minutes later, they ended up in front of a strangely familiar building. Naruto couldn't help but be cognizant of the desire to turn and run the other way.
But before Naruto could stop him, Gaara walked right on in and had already stepped up to the cashier. Catching the expectant look on his friend's face, he took a breath and entered, not bothering to hide a confused frown.
"A caffè macchiato, please."
"And an espresso for me, please." Gaara paid and they sat by the windowed wall along the far side, just hidden from the door. It was empty save for an elderly woman by the door.
The CEO pinned his associate with a hard stare, "Why'd we come to this cafe, Gaara?"
"For the coffee." His friend droned, head and posture slanted to the side. Gaara wasn't even looking at him.
"Gaara."
No response. Not even when he gripped his friend's arm with more force than necessary. Until, of course, the moment the door slid open, signalling the entry of the fourth late-night patron of the evening.
The newcomer cast his gaze about the barren cafe before he locked onto them. He strode to them with purpose in his steps, chin set, and a regal air about him. It called to mind one of the many nights before.
"Wine or beer?
It was his way of asking whether his lover would stay the night. When they had been friends, it had been beer at dinnertime. Enough to get drunk, pass out on the couch, wake up in the morning and laugh at each other's hungover state. Wine, though, meant one cup. It meant he was driving home. He didn't know why he still asked, since the answer was always the same.
"Wine."
An apathetic shrug of one shoulder. He resumed his perusal of that day's paper.
Today, those shoulders were taut, just as unyielding as ever. But gone was the apathy, and in lieu, anger flickered in the seemingly endless depths of those eyes.
"Sasuke." Naruto's voice was surprisingly unwavering.
"Naruto," The seemingly angry statue nodded his head in acknowledgement before directing his gaze to Gaara and in true juvenile fashion, snarled, "What do you want?"
How had it come to this.
The instigator merely nodded his red mop at the empty chair he'd pulled up. "Sit."
Despite the glaring animosity, Sasuke sprawled himself in the chair, looking for all the world as though he belonged there. A mask of disinterest splayed across his handsome features.
Taking a gander at the two most probable important people in his life, Naruto knew by the twisting of his gut, where this conversation would go. He looked away and dearly wished he had opted for staying at home that evening.
"Who is Naruto to you?" The redhead sat between the two, across from the window out of which Naruto was resolutely staring. He could see the blond's reflection; face strained and eyes slightly out of focus. The blond remained silent, as though he too wanted to hear the response.
"He's my lover," was the simple answer.
"Then why are you still single?" He held up a tabloid to prove his point.
"That's just a public face. There's no need for what's private to be leaked to the public."
"Oh?" The deep baritone of Gaara's voice dipped into treacherous waters.
"Then what," he stressed, "is this about an engagement?"
Naruto flinched. Gaara knew. Of course Gaara knew. He would find out through his contacts in the media, if not through Sakura. How he had found out, Naruto supposed by the severity of his tone (which reflected the reliability of his information), suggested the latter. Sakura had probably called him after she hung up on Naruto.
Although he didn't react outwardly, Sasuke, too, recognized the statement for what it was. A threat. And it was only familiarity with Gaara's background that reined in a snarky remark of 'None of your business.' Instead, he righted himself in the chair, looked resolutely into the endless blue that flickered to his face, and answered, "I'm not engaged."
The knot in Naruto's stomach loosened a little at the sincerity of those black eyes.
"I wouldn't do that to you, Naruto. You should know that."
He did. He knew that Sasuke would never go behind his back to cheat on him. No, Sasuke would straighten out all ends and cut all ties before courting someone else. There was no merit, no logic, in cheating.
Gaara, however, seemed to deliberate the answer a little more. Finally he huffed, "fine." Pushing his mug of espresso away, he pulled Naruto up and excused them. "We have work early tomorrow morning," which Naruto knew to mean that Gaara had something to say in private. They were the bosses, and could theoretically dictate their hours. With little more than a wave goodbye, Sasuke dismissed them. He was obviously fatigued himself.
Outside the building - which he now recognized as Sasuke's apartment complex - Naruto gently pried himself from Gaara's grasp.
"Gaara. I know you're just trying to help, but you have to let this go-" He started.
"Naruto." He gazed meaningfully into his long-time friend's anxious face. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. But there are things that I see that you can't from where you are. I know you're doing your best, but take a step back."
And doing so himself, the redhead gave his arm one last comforting squeeze before he turned and headed the opposite direction.
The blond walked home in the dark. Coat, tightly drawn around him.
Naruto understood Sasuke at a deeper level. He understood too well. Sasuke's decisions always made sense; he would reach for the most logical answer to a problem and there would be no counterarguments. Naruto couldn't ask for more, when more made so little sense. More was selfish. But what more could he do to make Sasuke stay? What more could he give when he felt like he had nothing left?
For all the compromises they've made, Naruto seemed to be a little less happy, a little more tired, squeezed a little more dry. Despite that, there was nothing he wouldn't do for his important people. If taking a step back, when Naruto so wanted to take a step closer, was something Sasuke needed, he would help lessen the burden any way he could. Even if it meant being squeezed a little more dry.
Dear, wonderful, and awesome readers! You may not get what's happening yet, but there are major clues in this chapter. If you can hazard a guess, drop me a line of what you want to happen next! It just might happen.
Thanks for reading, reviewing, and loving.