Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. Kishimoto holds all rights.

Warnings: yaoi, au, ooc, mature, language

*Half-empty*

This had to be a mistake. Though the words, "Naruto Uzumaki's Engagement Party" stood out starkly against the purple card. Left eye twitching, Sasuke crushed the card in his right hand.

Naruto's getting married?

The floodgate barring the memories of Naruto three years ago burst open.

The smell of tomato and onion permeated the air. Sasuke's stomach responded with a low growl. Still, he knew something was wrong the moment he entered the kitchen.

Naruto stood in front of the oven, preparing breakfast like usual. Except his lover's stiff back could probably grind the unpeeled onions on the counter.

Great. He's upset. The last thing I need is another argument this early in the damn morning.

He had a day full of consultations and two surgeries later. Going into the office with angry words on his mind didn't enter his schedule. Playing it cool was necessary at this point.

"Morning, dobe." He approached Naruto and planted a chaste kiss on his warm, tanned cheek.

"Hmm," was all Sasuke received for his effort. No "Good morning, Teme," and Naruto was already dressed, which was odd, because the guy usually went to work at eleven. He knew something bothered him, but he had no intention of pulling out the clog stopping the leak.

Uchiha put on a fresh pot of coffee and poured Uzumaki a cup before sitting down at the table. He picked up his paper and started reading. But a niggling feeling shattered his focus, telling him that his lover seemed a little off. And as much as he wanted to ignore it, doing so proved difficult.

He placed the paper on the table, took a sip of his coffee, then asked, "What's wrong?"

Naruto slowly turned around and gave him a tight smile. "Everything's dandy. Unless...you believe a travesty is in the works?"

Sasuke flattened his lips. He knew that tone well. The blond was itching for a fight. Well, if the man intended on playing games and refusing to disclose his pressing thoughts, then he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of probing.

"Okay, in that case…" He shrugged and raised the paper. Without looking up, he could feel Naruto's stare burning him like an ant under a magnifying glass on a sunny day.

After couple seconds sailed by without Uchiha commenting further, Uzumaki finally turned away from him. He banged pots and pans noisily around the oven range.

What the hell? Sasuke tried portraying an air of nonchalance while he flipped through the pages of news. However, once Naruto practically threw the food onto his plate, he realized the blond wouldn't let him have any peace until he found out what the issue was.

He tossed the paper aside. "What?"

"For a man with a medical degree, you're pretty dull, eh?"

Uchiha pursed his lips. Though he never revealed much of his childhood to Naruto, nothing angered him more than when someone questioned his intelligence.

Taking deep, even breaths, he clipped out, "What are you getting at?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "You asked me about my test results last night."

He raised a brow. "And?"

Naruto huffed. "It wasn't the first time you've asked about it, and I won't let you disrespect me like that again. We've been together for a while now and you still think I'm cheating on you!?" By the time he finished, he was pacing the ceramic-tiled floor.

Sasuke merely leaned back in the chair. "That's nothing to fuss over. It's a simple, logical question. We agreed you'd do a check-up on a regular basis."

"Riiiight, because you never know when I'll turn to someone else."

"Exactly, so why are you mad?"

Arms crossed over his chest, his nostrils flaring, Naruto glared at him. "Do you think I would screw another person when I'm committed to you? I have morals, but the fact that you'd ask me that, and during sex of all times, was hurtful." His light blue eyes flashed with righteous indignation.

Sasuke stood up, his appetite lost. "Quit making a big deal over such a trivial matter. I simply asked you about the results. You weren't on trial."

Naruto glowered at him. "You might not think it's a big deal, but I do. It wasn't even the question itself, but the reason you asked me last night and the same reason you asked me before. And I know why you did it."

Sasuke sneered. "Oh, do you, Dr. Phil? Why, then?"

A vein twitched in Uzumaki's jaw. "Don't belittle me, Sasuke. You asked because you don't believe I can be faithful to you always, and since I've been asking you about marriage, that rattles your chain even more."

Uchiha couldn't deny it. Marriage had never entered into the equation for him. Plus those vows and the license had the weight of a feather. People cheated, argued, fought, and committed other disgusting acts to each other and still stayed in an insincere union.

Sickened by his thoughts, he stashed it away and refocused on the conversation at hand. "Yes, that's exactly why I asked. I wanted to make sure we were still on the same page."

The next thing he knew, a fist flew toward his face. He ducked, but the man's knuckles brushed against his cheek.

"Don't you ever try that again, Naruto." His fingers quivered, itching to return the favor.

Uzumaki's nostrils flared. "Why? You deserve it. Did the past months mean anything to you? Do you really think so little of me? If I wanted someone else, why would I spend my time with an uptight arse like you?"

Sasuke shot him an irritated glance."You're the one who keeps bringing up marriage, even after I've repeatedly said I'm not interested."

"You didn't answer my question. Do you think I'm capable of cheating on you?"

Sasuke sighed. He hadn't meant to question his integrity, but this was an issue he wouldn't budge on. "Naruto, you're young. You'll soon learn that marriage isn't what it's cracked up to be." He patted him on the shoulder, which only seemed to enrage him.

"Don't you dare patronize me, Sasuke Uchiha."

Uzumaki never used his full name unless he was really angry. Uchiha would have to tread lightly. "I'm not trying to patronize you. I'm just trying to say that marriage isn't for me—something you've always known."

"Why?"

"The way I see it, marriage is just a lousy piece of paper that represents nothing but lies and broken promises."

"How can you say that? My parents were happily married."

He sighed. "That's different."

"How?"

He refrained from uttering words capable of adding more oil to the fire and said instead, "Fifty percent of marriages in this country end in divorce, and the other half may not be living as happily as they appear to be."

Uzumaki's eyelids fell, his shoulders slumping. "Is that what you really believe, Sasuke?"

"You've always known how I felt. I've said it on numerous occasions."

"Yes, I know, but I thought…"

"Thought you could change my mind? Not happening. Besides, we have a good thing going here. Why pick the lock?"

"Although we basically live as spouses already, I don't get the benefits of a legalized union. What if you were seriously injured? I wouldn't have the right to decide what to do with you as your next of kin, and vice versa. You'd have no recourse if something were to happen to me."

Sasuke lifted a brow. "Now you're being ridiculous. You're thinking about things that may or may not happen. There are people who are paid to do that—they're called insurance agents. Anyway, you knew the deal. Let's just sit down and have breakfast. In fact, tell you what, why don't you treat yourself on your upcoming day off? You can use the Visa."

Naruto shook his head. "Do you seriously think that solves everything? As long as you give me your credit card, I'll shut up? That's not going to work this time, Sasuke."

Uchiha raked his fingers through his hair. "What do you want, then?"

Naruto shrugged. "Besides marriage? Your love and respect would be nice."

"I do respect you, Naruto. As far as love is concerned, I don't believe it really exists."

"How can you say that? I love you, Sasuke."

"You don't really love me. I know you don't, and one day you'll realize I'm right."

"Then what do we have?"

"Mutual respect, understanding, companionship, and mind-blowing sex." He stretched his hand towards the table. "Now, come on, Naruto, let's have breakfast, and, tonight, I'll take you out. We can visit the newly opened seafood restaurant near the Wharf." He hoped his offer would mollify him.

Uzumaki straightened his shoulders. "Maybe I won't be here when you get back."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. The blond had threatened to leave him on several occasions these past couple of months, but he never had. He was getting damn tired of his harmless threats.

"Hn, you'll be here and this is why." He grabbed him, his arms wrapping around his lean, toned body.

The minute Sasuke's mouth clamped on to Naruto's, the same turbulent feelings rushed through his body the way they always did. Contentment, anticipation, desire, and something deeper, but he refused to examine it. His cock became rigid, and his tongue pried his lover's lips apart, demanding entrance. Uzumaki struggled against his hold, but Uchiha wouldn't release him until he received obedience.

Fuck, Naruto tasted hot, dark, with a hint of coffee. Every time he kissed him, his body filled with warmth and a ravenous desire to claim this man repeatedly.

Sasuke ground his pelvis against his lover's crotch. Only when Naruto relaxed and returned his hungry kiss did he loosen his grip. He lifted his hands to cup the sides of his lover's face, probing deeper into the moist orifice. An even richer taste flooded his mouth. He needed more. He sucked on Uzumaki's tongue and the low moan his lover released, filled him with masculine pride. It was he who had brought this fiery, passionate, caring man to this state of arousal.

If he didn't have to be at the hospital in an hour, he'd take him to their bedroom and fucked him until the thought of leaving never crossed his mind again. He released that addictive mouth and gazed into dazed oceanic eyes.

"Let's not argue about this again, okay?" he coaxed.

Naruto gasped, pulling away from him. "You've got a lot of damn nerve! Did you think a mere kiss would get me off the topic? I'm very serious."

That was it. He refused to continue this conversation. "Grow up, Naruto. I wish you'd leave me alone and forget about this marriage crap. If you absolutely want marriage, then you can forget about me, too!" He knew he laid it on a bit thick, but he wasn't surrendering to emotional blackmail.

A humorless laugh slipped through Naruto's lips.

What the hell? "Are you okay?"

Uzumaki nodded. "I'm fine."

His lover's vacant expression bothered him. "You're sure?"

Again, Naruto only nodded.

Sasuke sighed, hesitating to leave for work with the way things were. "Say something."

The man merely looked at him.

Uchiha's lips tightened. If this was another one of his lover's games, he wasn't playing. "I'll grab breakfast on the way to the office and see you when I get home."

He received no response.

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose before gathering his car keys. Naruto would slip out of his funk soon enough. The blond would just have to learn that sometimes you couldn't always get what you wanted.

Later on that night, he returned home, and Naruto didn't greet him. He thought the man was simply fuming over their heated discussion this morning. However, when he entered the kitchen, no food scent permeated the air. No pots were on the stove or in the dish hanger. He assumed Naruto left his food in the microwave and headed upstairs. Once he opened the bedroom, Sasuke could only stare at the rumpled sheets, opened drawers, bared walls, and the white piece of paper plastered on the mirror.

Sasuke headed towards it and a seven lettered word in caps twisted his gut in a way he never imagined.

GOODBYE.

That's all? He couldn't believe Naruto removed all traces of himself, tracks of unanswered questions and unresolved feelings lingering behind.

Sasuke pushed the memory aside, hating the downpour mood hanging over him. Naruto made his decision when he left that day. But knowing how much the man had professed his "love" for him, only to be saying that to someone else? Sasuke shoved the crumpled paper in his pocket, then left the house. He needed a smoke.

A throng of well-wishers congratulated Naruto on his engagement party. Yet he never felt so alone.

He loved Hinata Hyūga. Kindness poured off her like a warm glow–her gentle voice, soothing to him. She dedicated herself to her family and the community. They shared similar likes of humor and philosophical views, but the similarities ended there. On the matter of sex, they were miles apart. Hinata had informed him early on in their relationship that she had no intention of putting out before marriage.

Not exactly a declaration pleasing to a man with a strong libido, but he could wait. Anticipation after all was half the fun. Then she had stated nervously that she rode the traditional path. Uzumaki could go for that as long as she was on all fours. But a life of tepid kisses and the missionary position she preferred wouldn't cut it. He wasn't a freak by any stretch of the imagination, but he loved a good, gritty fuck occasionally.

Memories of the past flashed through his mind: making love to the point of exhaustion. The type of love making that dampened your hair with sweat and the sheets stripped from the bed. The uninhibited session of love making that began in one room and ended in another with entwined bodies in a sated heap. Just remembering such a time had his dick tenting in his pants.

Shit.

So here he stood, pretending to listen as his friends wished him well and told him how lucky he was. Drats, he didn't have the heart to tell them that lukewarm tea gave him more heat than her.

Glancing across the room to where Hinata stood with her girls, she exhibited more expressions and interactions with them than she did with him. So why were they having an engagement party, and why had he allowed their relationship to progress to this point? Did he think that switching back on the "straight" trail would prove he more than qualified as "husband" material? When did he resort to such a desperate state? Hadn't he sacrificed enough of his pride and dignity before he left Sasuke Uchiha?

His shoulders slumped forward. Could he have been that starved for love? And if so, then why did his solution seem like he trudged through the desert for water, ending up unsuccessful, and not discovering an escape route towards paradise?

He rubbed his forehead. I'm such a fucking mess.

"Naruto."

The soft, feminine voice shattered his musings and paused his ministrations. His gaze connected with lilac-colored eyes.

Instead of happiness and contentment thrumming through his veins, he only felt a gnawing ache in his soul.

After driving for one hour, thirty minutes, Sasuke convinced himself that Naruto getting married had nothing to do with him. And yet, he arrived at the address mentioned on that damn invitation card. He wondered if Naruto had sent it as a way of bragging about finally finding someone who would marry him.

Sasuke stomped on the butt of his cigarette then glanced up at the dark-brown building. Purple, white, and pink flowers decorated the opened black gates. A chiming tune one would hear at an opera rang throughout the vicinity.

He strolled across the pavement, climbed the two steps and pulled the glass door open and entered. He followed the sound of music to the open doors of Suite Three. Taking surveillance of the room, he recognized several familiar faces. He knew his presence would cause a commotion, but it was unavoidable. He moved through the crowd, passing an old colleague. A quick nod in the man's direction and he moved on searching the room. Loud male laughter drew his attention. A quick survey of the professional dressed men, he zeroed in on one in particular, knowing he had identified the man who had left him befuddled...and...his stomach in knots.

His heart did what it always did when Naruto was near. It thumped heavily against his ribs, sending blood rushing to his groin. His nostrils flared as though scenting him, and the room fell away as he stood there looking at him.

Naruto had changed since he had last seen him. The shoulder-length hair he remembered running his fingers through was gone. Short, spiky amber hair framed his round face. An extreme change that was charismatic as well as mature. Uzumaki had always looked younger than he was and the new style helped him to look his age of thirty-one. Cobalt eyes stared back at him, glinting with a mixture of shock, longing, and anger. Fuck, it pissed Uchiha off and turned him on at the same time. His eyes dropped to the small stubborn mouth opening and closing repeatedly. Just the thought of it wrapped around his cock had him aroused. He scanned the length of the man's body clothed in an impeccable tailored white suit accompanied by a white shirt and purple tie. Then he returned his focus on that expressive face. It was then he noticed the blond's defiant chin hiking higher, an arched brow, and folded hands.

Sasuke smirked. Intimidation wasn't Naruto's forte. Therefore, useless in preventing him from attaining answers to his questions, and God help anyone who blocked his path.

As he stepped forward, a deep rumbling boomed to life in a gravelly roar, his body shaking from its tremors. People screamed and thrashed throughout the room–their panic tangible. He quickly glanced at Naruto grabbing a woman into his arms and running his fingers through her hair.

That must be his fiancée. The thought had Uchiha clenching his teeth.

But in the next second, his heart skipped a beat, when a glass-like object toppled on Naruto, who shielded the woman in his arms. Something vise-like gripped his lungs, his breath coming slower and sharper. Naruto. He pushed one foot in front of the other, ignoring those who pushed by him in a daze. Goosebumps peppered his skin when the woman dropped beside Naruto's crumpled form on the ground. As he inched closer, something hard hit him and the next thing he knew, he was swaying before succumbing to the darkness.

AN: Thank you guys for the feedback. See you soon for chapter two.