"Foolish Hearts"
'Chapter Twenty-Three'
Sasuke had woken up earlier, having fallen into a strange dreamless sleep -- feeling it wasn't right to wander free in Naruto's home just yet.
New clothes…
That's what Naruto had said.
He had picked out a pair of pants and a shirt out of the dresser; thinking the clothes were his, and he had decided to go the bathroom and try and bathe. Maybe Naruto thought he smelled; that might've been why he suggested it.
Sasuke didn't want to upset Naruto anymore.
He had undressed in front of the mirror, tugging off his shirt and he had got intrigued by the sight of the odd marks all over his skin. Sasuke frowned, climbing up on the counter, his body almost pressed against the mirror as he trailed his hands over his own flesh -- feeling the rough spots of scars.
...some long, some short, some dark some light.
Weird.
Sasuke didn't remember any of these.
He kicked off his shorts and underwear, determined to find more, to try and find one he recognized.
...so many.
Sasuke was a little scared now; how did he get all these?
He grabbed the towel off the counter, wrapping it quickly around his waist in a sloppy manner -- moving down the hall to Naruto's room as if the blonde might be able to help him out.
...but he looked so sad yesterday.
What if he was still asleep..?
Sasuke mustered up his courage, opening the door and peeking his head inside, slowly letting his naked torso be seen as he cautiously moved into the room. Now he was standing in the doorway in nothing but a towel, the thin white cloth falling dangerously low on his hips. "Where did these all come from?" Sasuke asked, pointing at himself -- referring to the scars.
Naruto blinked, drawn out of his mind by that frightening familiar voice. Slowly pushing up onto his forearm, Naruto looked back at Sasuke in his towel…
What was he doing..?
Naruto hadn't heard the question, his mind too far gone; it was the sound and tone of the voice that had triggered him more than anything. He watched, a bit confused, as Sasuke's fingers moved across his body.
What was he--
Oh…
He was tracing his scars...
"...which ones?"
Sasuke took that as an invitation to come closer, the male sitting his tiny ass down on the bed next to the blonde. He had a frown; almost looking like the usual irritated Uchiha had it not been for the pure innocent confusion in the man's eyes. "All of them." Sasuke said softly, his fingers absently tracing the long scar from his shoulder to his hip.
...the scar given to him on the gates of Konoha; not that he knew.
Sasuke kept his bright eyes on the fox, the towel slack and exposing a good portion of his inner thigh.
Naruto eyed the dark, almost purple scar along the pale skin and sighed heavily.
He had done that…
The fox sighed and moved to gently grip Sasuke's forearm and carefully turned it over, his eyes scanning for the faded spots.
He found a couple…
"These were from senbon." He started, his voice soft. He hadn't noticed the skin exposed on Sasuke's legs; trying to remain focused on his arm. "You were twelve; we were on the Big Naruto Bridge down in the water county." He let out a light, painful sigh at the memory, "...You almost died trying to protect me…and took the senbon hit..."
Twelve?
That had to be a long while ago.
How old was he now?
Sasuke looked down at his own arm with an intense gaze, picking out the faint dark spots and tilting his head.
...he didn't remember.
He was trying...
But he just couldn't remember.
"We've…known each other a long time then?" Sasuke murmured softly, feeling Naruto's fingers on his skin and it felt different from when he had touched his own flesh.
...almost familiar.
Sasuke took Naruto's hand with him, placing his fingers over another angry mark, "What about this one?" He wasn't aware how close they had become, Sasuke's eyes almost shyly looking into Naruto's own as the blonde's face was inches from his own.
Naruto blushed slightly as Sasuke moved his hand across his body only to rest over another scar. It took him a while to figure it out where his hand had traveled. Sasuke had put his hand back over the scar he had given him.
...god, what could he say..?
He sighed at the first question, hoping to maybe divert Sasuke's attention from the scar. His painful reminder of their bloody past.
"Yeah, we were placed on a team together when we were twelve, but we bumped into each other a few times while we were kids." He tried hard to keep his fingers still, but they were slowly tracing the edge of the scar.
Sasuke let Naruto's fingers roam down the edge of his scar, his black eyes almost distant -- as if trying to catch a memory that just wasn't there.
...what was wrong with him?
Why couldn't he remember?
Sasuke hadn't been aware that his hand was still atop Naruto's, almost guiding him as the blonde's digits roamed over the rough flesh. "I'm...not a very good ninja am I?" Sasuke said after a moment; thinking the scars were from him being careless.
Naruto shook his head, "No, no you were a very good Ninja." He corrected, "One of the best." Seeing the scar and the innocent look in Sasuke's eyes was almost painful. The man had no memory of his past life. "I'll tell you that story later though, okay?" He murmured. He was wracking his brain to remember how Iruka treated him when he was younger. He had to think of Sasuke as just a child now; his lover had died two days before, this was just a orphaned, homeless child living with him.
He had to beat the pain!
"Okay…" Sasuke was quiet a moment, just sitting there, unsure how to read Naruto's expression. "...I should go take my bath." He said after a moment, licking his lips absently and averting his gaze towards the half-opened door. He turned his black eyes back on the fox as a thought struck him, a small smile on the corners of his lips, "Did you want to bathe too Hokage-sama?"
Innocent.
That innocent look would kill Naruto one of these days.
Naruto blinked before he drew his hand away from Sasuke's body, "Um...sure…"
This was just a child...
Children asked for this, he had asked Iruka for this.
"Get it started for us?' He asked almost hesitating.
Naruto could do this, he had to do this.
Sasuke's smile got a little brighter than; feeling glad Naruto wasn't upset with him from the night before. The Uchiha had left the room as he was told, walking down the hall and back to the bathroom. He had turned on the taps, filling the tub and letting his towel fall to the floor. Once the tub filled the Uchiha eased himself into the warm steamy water, letting himself relax and scooting to one side of the bath so Naruto would have room when the kitsune joined him.
Naruto rubbed his forehead in a slow, hard manner, as if he were trying to rid himself of an impeding headache. "What are you doing, Naruto?" He mumbled to himself as he moved from his bedroom towards the bathroom. He had to keep his cool and composure if front of Sasuke; the man still picked up on the subtle movements that Naruto made when he was upset. "Stupid observant bastard." He grumbled, almost lovingly to himself. Letting out a long sigh, he schooled his features and smiled gently as he stepped into the bathroom.
Sasuke was already in the tub, a small smile on his face.
"Comfy, Sasuke?" He asked as he started to lift his own shirt.
...this was so awkward.
Sasuke nodded simply but he doubted the kitsune saw as he pulled the shirt over his head and let his pants fall to the ground. Sasuke's eyes followed the contours of Naruto's body, roaming the smooth flesh all the way to when the blonde sat down in the tub and caused the water to slosh around them.
Sasuke tilted his head, his eyes not lingering from a reason Naruto would recognize, something curious in the way Sasuke traced his fingers across the man's collarbone and inwardly thinking he should withdraw his fingers. "Why don't you have scars?" He asked the blonde, tilting his head up to the kitsune. Sasuke frowned then, his fingers ghosting over his neck and back up to his cheeks, "Well...you have these. But...nothing else."
Naruto let out a small laugh and let his fingers trace over the small whiskers. "I have the Kyuubi sealed in me." He started, his voice almost strained as the fingers started to trail down his neck.
His weak spot.
He carefully pulled the hand away from his face.
"He heals me, and makes it so I don't have scars."
"Kyuubi?" Sasuke let the name roll off his tongue, his eyes curious but he managed to pull himself away from the blonde as Naruto's fingers pushed his hands away from his face. Sasuke leaned against the side of the tub, their skin touching but he didn't seem so aware of it. The Uchiha reached for the shampoo, squeezing some of the soap on his fingers before he ran them through his hair in a lathering motion.
"...a demon." Naruto answered after a moment. He watched Sasuke move around the tub, totally unaware of their bodies touching. It was hard to think of him as a child as he watched the man move; Sasuke's motions were as fluid and effortless as they had been before his mind had been taken from him.
But those eyes...
His voice...
They weren't Sasuke...
"Demon?" Sasuke blinked to the blonde, dipping his head back and submerging his soap lathered locks -- unconsciously exposing his neck and arching himself almost in a tempting manner. He shook the water from his hair as he came back up, running his fingers along his scalp to keep the hair from his eyes; those bright black eyes looking up to the kitsune. "Living in you?" The Uchiha frowned a little.
Naruto really needed to get out of the tub...
No matter how hard to force his mind to accept that Sasuke was a mere child, his body was anything but. He knew that the Uchiha wasn't trying to tease or tempt, but, god if Sasuke's body didn't make Naruto's react…
He shifted a bit, so they were no longer touching.
"...yea," He answered, trying to keep his mind on the Kyuubi. "It was sealed in me when I was a baby."
Sasuke was having trouble grasping it, but he tried to run with it. The Uchiha picked up the bottle of shampoo, noticing as Naruto scooted from him but he didn't want the kitsune to shy away.
...he wanted to show him he appreciated him taking him in; that he was grateful the fox had allowed him to live here for whatever reason.
He oozed the shampoo on his hands, absently lifting them and running them through Naruto's hair -- scooting a little too close as he lathered the blonde's soft hair. There was a smile on his lips when he looked down at the kitsune; quite happy in the fact that he could do something for the Hokage-sama.
Naruto had watched Sasuke carefully and curiously as the man shifted around in the bath. He hadn't been able to hold back the surprised gasp as those fingers wove their way through his hair.
His body tensed, all his muscles tightening and on edge.
He needed and wanted to pull away, but he couldn't...
Physically, his body reacted to Sasuke's touch, visually he reacted.
Mentally and emotionally -- he wanted to protect himself.
Shiiiiitt….
Forcing himself to try and relax, Naruto forced himself to focus on the tile ahead of him.
...this was just a child...
This was just a child...
This...was just... a child…
Sasuke had finished scrubbing Naruto's hair, having heard the gasp from the blonde he tilted his head towards the fox.
...he was getting a bit too close.
Sasuke was leaned over the kitsune, finding himself between the man's legs but not really on purpose. "You have to lean back." Sasuke said, gently pushing down on Naruto's shoulder to get him to move -- his other hand placed on the tiles at the side of the blonde's scalp. "You're all soapy." He said, the smile turning into a little smirk.
Jesus this was torture!
Just finish and get out!
Naruto complied with the movements, trying so hard not to focus on the man between his legs. His chest constricted, and he closed his eyes, but masked it as he easily rinsed out the rest of the soap in his hair. He couldn't look Sasuke in the eye as he slowly sat back up, being careful to keep their bodies apart. He could almost hear himself starting to break. "...Thanks." He murmured gently, before he pulled away and stood, easily stepping out of the tub. He reached for the towel and quickly wrapped it around his waist.
"Don't take too long, we still have to get those clothes, okay?" He said, keeping his smile up as he started out of the bathroom. He walked quietly and quickly back to his own room, where he closed the door and fell against it, tears springing to his eyes one hand covering his mouth, trying to muffle the sounds.
He couldn't do this…he just couldn't!
It would kill him to stare at Sasuke ever day like this -- to see childish antics coming from a man whom had dominated and controlled him, from a man who had loved him.
The fox felt his shoulders shaking as he started to slide down the door, leaving a sticky, damp trail across the wood. His eyes were pinched shut, his head bowed as he drew his knees up close to his chest, his body finally breaking down on him.
Sasuke had taken his time in the tub, just pressed against the side, his head tilted on the rim above the water while the rest of him remained submerged.
...Naruto.
Sasuke didn't know why he felt something was wrong…but he did.
Something…was there.
But…he didn't know what.
He sighed softly to himself, his young mind unable to grasp the dire situation, unable to remember what he needed to piece the situation back together and make everything okay.
...they were going to go shopping?
Sasuke climbed out of the tub, toweling himself off and running the fabric roughly through his hair to get the moisture out.
He caught his reflection in the mirror and stopped.
He frowned, just staring at his pale white body; at the messy black hair and the dark black eyes. He could see every detail, every scar.
So…weird...
Something looked off.
He inched closer and closer to the mirror, his hand on the glass covering his own reflection almost as he stared intently into his own eyes.
...pure black.
His pupil dilating; but his eyes were just black.
What...had...he wanted to see?
Sasuke shook off the weird feeling, moving to tug on the slightly over-sized shirt and pair of cargo pants. He finally left the bathroom after draining the tub; intent on finding the fox.
--
A/N:
Yet another sad awkward situation. Will it get any better? Lol, leave a review to find out what happens next. Thanks for reading and supporting us!