NO SEX! SORRY! I'm not comfortable writing that, that's why I do T and not M XD but hey, just one more chapter after this.
Chapter 17: The Paper Bag
Life is not perfection, there will always be hardship. What makes a life happy is not perfection, but the acceptance of life as it is and how it makes you who you are.
In his house everything was slightly dirty, my lack of presence clearly noticeable with the unwashed dishes, vacant ramen cups on the table, and clothing all around from sleepy mornings of getting dressed, and unfolded clean clothes piled around the sides of his couch in the living room.
He was beyond crazy without me huh? Figures; not that I was much better of course.
I reached into my backpack, fiddling with the paper bag Gaara gave me. Naruto watched curiously as he handed me a towel for my lip. I pulled out the bag and dumped out all the bandages, and aid medicine it contained on to the kitchen counter.
"Where did you get all that?" Naruto questioned, looking at me with wonder, I shrugged trying to suppress the grin spreading on my lips. A grin that would turn into a full blown smile if I didn't watch it, it's amazing to go from nervous depression to deliriously happy in less than 20 seconds.
Some would say it's crazy even.
"Where can I put all this?" I asked Naruto opened a drawer closest to me and shoved everything in; I rolled my eyes as I watched him destroy they only untouched evidence of all the work I did when I cleaned his house, "You're so messy."
"Yeah but you love me." Naruto teased, I glared with embarrassment. I'm not used to being called out like that all the time. "I don't know how I could love you though? You're such an asshole, sometimes. At least when you're grumpy, or when the power goes out, and when you have to bake and all the sugar gets all over you. Oh, and then…"
I just let him ramble…for an hour or so about me, some things were bad but he always had something good to say about them. A small part of my brain wondered if the only reason I was letting him go on and on was because I liked to hear him talk about me, the other parts of my brain decided to agree. Selfish bastard couldn't be more right I guess, as Naruto put it.
Naruto spend most of his time examining my other injures, the ones that he caused, and admiring them with pride. Then apologizing only for me to apologize and then both of us kiss for a bit before moving on. I don't want to move to fast, even though I have the urge to shove up against the counter and get it over with, I think that Naruto might protest and it would only turn out badly for us.
Have we admitted our feelings? Yes. Are we still just a bit awkward with the idea of dating each other? Yeah, just a little bit.
It turns out that Naruto had strange I-like-you-but-I-hate-you-at-the-same-time-feelings for me for almost as long as I have known him, and neither of us ever even dreamed of this but it happened anyway and now that we are dating we have no idea how to do it.
None of that makes any sense.
Hardly anything I can think of is making sense, the only thing that makes sense is the sound of Naruto's voice as he goes on and on about random topics of the past, now, his thoughts, everything.
The next day, I woke up with Naruto's underwear in my face and his foot against my cheek while he snored on the other end of the couch. Checklist: Underwear is clean, check. Naruto is wearing clothes, check. I am wearing clothes, check. We didn't do anything either of us would regret doing so soon, check. Messages on my phone from Kakashi and Iruka check. School day, I really don't know.
Either way I decided to start the day by shoving Naruto off the couch and stretching.
"WHAT THE HELL! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS DO THAT TO ME YOU SADISTIC BASTARD?" Naruto roared from the floor, I smiled a little at the sound of his complaining. Naruto paused for a second, his face morphing into a pout before whining, "Sasuke…"
I don't like that face, that face makes me do things I wouldn't do normally, "I'm sorry…is it a school day today?"
"I think so, but if it is, schools about to end anyway. Didn't you look at the time while you were checking your phone for messages, even I would do that I wonder who the stupid one is here." I smacked him with his clean underwear and he ran off towards the bathroom, muttering something about "how Ino was right and that face really does work every time."
I will have to kill Ino, and maybe burn Sakura, later. There was something else bugging me at that moment as I opened a message from Kakashi saying, "I know where you are and have convinced Iruka not to kill you using the luck handcuffs ;) , hope you like the gift I left on your face, but when you wake up call me because I took care of those menacing adult ideas in you little teenage head."
Sometimes Kakashi scares me, but I never ever said that.
Not wanting to immediately obey him and call as he instructed, I decided to focus on the outcome of the conversation, roaming Naruto's kitchen for toast and other breakfast items as I did so. There were tons of sticky notes coating the fridge that I never noticed before, they were from Tsunade, saying things like "Might be home later if…." Or, "I'm sorry I wasn't here yesterday, but…."
Maybe Naruto isn't messy; I thought as I looked around the kitchen, maybe he's just lonely.
I'm not saying lonely people are messy people, I'm just comparing to how he kept the place clean when we were hanging out, but the second I pulled away he let it all go. I guess because it didn't matter to him anymore.
"What are you doing weirdo?" Naruto questioned, as he emerged showered dressed in clean clothes with a nice scent of Tsunade's shampoo filling the room. I guess he's out of that to, I made a mental not to drag him to the grocery store. "Don't just stare at me, your acting weird. Are you okay?"
He approached me, waving his hand in my face obnoxiously, I grabbed it leaning my head forward, and watching his blue eyes grow wide as my lips approached his, before pulling away and slapping him upside the head. "You're the one who's acting weird."
"Oh! YOU'RE SUCH A TEASE!" Naruto complained again, though his smile was shining through his scowl.
I didn't call Kakashi until I was alone outside of Naruto's house, sitting on the curb. Naruto was running around inside putting up clothes and crap because everyone was coming over later.
"What is it?" I said as soon as I heard Kakashi pick up the phone.
"All the sexual tension making you more impatient than usual Sasuke?" He teased, "I bet the underwear didn't help that huh?"
"I'm not a pervert, now tell me what you were going to tell me already!" I growled, it really didn't help that he brought up the underwear, again.
"Everyone is a pervert, and don't worry I was just getting to that part." Kakashi's tone turned serious, I could feel myself sitting up straighter, my ears perking up to hear the news.
"One of Itachi's band mates has been arrested, for drugging Itachi and pushing him into oncoming traffic." the news hit me like a sledgehammer, but I didn't move an inch. Everything was stilled within me and I felt like Itachi was dying all over again. "Itachi owed money and the band mate of his killed Itachi on the promise of a hefty amount of money from the person who Itachi owed the money to in the first place."
"Uh-huh." Was all I managed to get out, wondering what the hell was wrong with my brother; he could have just…..taken the money from me…something he would never do.
"Are you alright?" Rang the voice of Iruka on the other end, he had apparently stolen the phone from Kakashi's hands to show some compassion that Kakashi is awkward with sometimes.
I swallowed the knot in my throat, "Yep."
"Now you just focus on being a teenager, don't do anything you would regret and don't let Itachi down kid. Be happy like he always wanted, don't waste it." Kakashi said, after the brief moment of silence as the phone changed hands. Itachi wanted me to be happy, that's why he let me do the things I did. That's why when I told him I wanted to move out and get away from him no matter what it took; he let me move next door.
When has he not thought about me?
When did he never think about me?
Without warning a laugh erupted from somewhere within me, I felt my shoulder shake and my hand start making its way to the side of my head. "Sasuke?" Kakashi's voice questioned, but I couldn't reply in the mists of my hard laughter, only worsening when Kakashi further questioned me, "Are you high?"
Those questions tumbling around in my head of Itachi's death had been answered, and I did nothing. Kakashi was a step ahead of me as usual; he probably was able to see everything with a clear picture the moment of Itachi's death or maybe before then. Maybe it was Itachi himself who revealed foul play when they did the autopsy on his body. I was sitting around worrying myself, acting like a fool for something that didn't need me to be fixed.
But I wanted to do something so badly for Itachi, I knew it was all wrong and I wanted to make it better. It makes enough sense doesn't it?
"You okay?" I heard the small voice of Naruto called to me from the doorway, my laughter settling, becoming something deeper and much more sorrowful. Naruto rushed out and held me close without explanation, I leaned against him waiting for the noises to stop and the wheels of hysteria to stop turning in my brain.
Eventually I calmed down, a worried Naruto was silent for the longest time I have ever heard him do so, or not heard him. I decided to console him, "it's okay, and I'm just… stunned."
"Why?" Naruto questioned, visibly brightening a little as he noticed my sudden relaxed tone.
"Itachi, he was murdered." I said shaking my head, Naruto fell quiet again, and the brightness that was appearing dimmed. "Yeah, I don't know. I thought there was something wrong with his death, but I really didn't want there to be anything really. I didn't want to be right but I was, and if I was right I wanted to solve it somehow. Fix it."
"I think that's one of the longest sentences you've ever spoken." Naruto teased me, lightening the mood. "Everyone is going to be here soon! Come on and help me clean!"
Naruto pulled the pouting face again and I glared at the face, a face that I couldn't resist, "Fine."
"To the new couple!" Kiba roared, raising his cup into the air everyone obliged though not as enthusiastically as him. Shikamaru and Temari were looking particularly proud of themselves as they were sipping on the complimentary drinks Kiba provided for them.
I shook my head in their direction and they both smiled knowingly in reply, assholes.
Sakura was mysteriously absent, something that upset Naruto a bit but everyone assured him that she would get over it and move on, especially with Lee making some leeway on his romantic crusade into Sakura's well-guarded heart.
Ino was there though; she had already found plenty of new people to flirt with, including Sai of all people who she dragged along to the party. I was thankful that she had stopped freely touching me.
I watched everyone sitting around the house, laughing and giving their congratulations to our new relationship. This is a place where I never imagined myself, surrounded with people, enjoying myself and the company of others.
I am a new person.