Chapter 7

Untameable

Naruto woke up with a start as he heard a loud thump in the hallway. He checked his alarm clock; it was just 6:00 am. Kicking the sheets he swung his legs out of the large bed and flicked on the lamp on the wooden bedside table. He found his comfy black sweat pants and threw them on.

As he opened the door his fears were confirmed. Sasuke had clearly fallen down in the hallway.

"Why do you always end up on the floor?"

He received a grunt as a reply. Naruto turned on the hallway light and looked at him, worried. Sasuke was so pale, so skinny, his long raven locks so messy as they hid his face. He was trembling, curling onto his side, wearing only his black boxer briefs and tank top, which was lifted and revealed his bony hips. His arm was across his waist and his other hand was pressed on his forehead and he seemed in a lot of pain.

"Hangover's being a bitch?"

"You have no idea…" Sasuke cracked his eyes open and looked at him through his messy bangs, "I don't want to know what was in those shooters…"

"Rum, according to Suigetsu," Naruto answered anyway. Oh well, he was still a bit pissed at the raven for making him worry. So he figured he could torture him a little.

It seemed to work. Sasuke moaned weakly as he crawled his way to the bathroom. Naruto followed him, and he took pity in him as he threw up in the toilet. He brushed the sides of Sasuke's face with his fingers to gather his hair, and held it back as the trembling, skinny body was racked with spasms. Nothing much was coming out, Naruto suspected Sasuke had been throwing up a lot already, and there was nothing left in his system. He just still felt sick because he was hungover. Tenderly he caressed the messy dark locks as he sat a little behind Sasuke.

He was coughing, and coughing and it seemed so painful. Naruto rubbed his back a little; he didn't know what to do.

"Don't drink so much next time," he said softly, "even if people encourage you."

"Ugh… they practically forced it down my throat… fucking Suigetsu… fucking bartender dude… and the others… it's all so blurry now…"

His body was still trembling but the spasms stopped at least. He flushed the toilet and got up on shaky legs. He went to lean across the sink counter as he turned on the tap water.

"I'm really sorry for waking you. You should go back to sleep." He closed his reddened eyes as he brought some water to his lips with a trembling pale hand.

Naruto suddenly, and strangely, wanted nothing more than to hug him from behind. He wanted to wrap his strong arms around this tiny waist and hold on tight, to comfort him. Weird… Maybe he was just tired, and he had been dreaming about Hinata, too. Unfortunately his subconscious liked to remind him all too often of what he had lost. What did dreaming with Hinata have to do with this though? Perhaps the urge to be so affectionate with someone… Maybe Kakashi was right with all his talk about 'replacing' and his need for affection. Or maybe Naruto was thinking too much into this.

He shook his thoughts away and yawned.

"Yeah, I guess I should. I've got another big day at work. And hey, you do remember it's your first day at Chouji's restaurant right?"

"Of course," Sasuke turned off the water but he was still leaning on the counter. He picked up his toothbrush and the toothpaste. Naruto sighed.

"And one last thing, next time you text me that you're lost, please don't do it right before your cell dies and I can't even reach you."

"It didn't die right after but," he said weakly, "I was in the subway so it wasn't working. I thought I still had some time and I'd be able to call you later."

"Apparently not."

"I'm sorry I was an idiot…"

"Yes you were."

"Go back to sleep Naruto I already said I was sorry okay?"

Why couldn't he just leave the bathroom and go back to sleep like he said? Instead he stepped closer.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke whispered. He had put the toothbrush down. Apparently he was waiting for Naruto to leave.

But he wasn't leaving. He wanted to… He really wanted to hold him, so tight. He didn't really know why…

Before he knew it Naruto had slid his arms around Sasuke's waist and he was indeed holding him. And the slightly smaller male held him back too, his cold, pale arms sliding across Naruto's smooth and warm backside. They stayed like this for a long time.

"Naruto?"

"I just…" he finally pulled away. Sasuke's arms slid down his sides limply and he went back to leaning against the sink. He looked a bit sad as he searched Naruto's eyes.

"I was just really worried about you, yesterday," the blonde finished. "I thought something happened to you."

Sasuke didn't react at first. Then his lips twitched into a small smile and he looked down, almost shyly.

"Well, except for Suigetsu being kind of a jerk, nothing happened. And I actually bought a charger yesterday so it should be fine. If I didn't lose it…"

"No," Naruto chuckled, "you didn't, it's downstairs."

"Good."

"You should go back to sleep soon."

"You too."

Naruto nodded and finally left the bathroom. He yawned and scratched his messy blonde hair before crawling back into his comfortable bed. Every time he slept in this bed he missed his girlfriend so much… but it wasn't so bad now. Every day it got a little, just a little better. Well, it was said that time healed all wounds, after all.

He slept for maybe a grand total of five minutes before he was woken up by the sound of the shower this time. He cursed and shifted more comfortably in the large bed, spreading his legs and then curling on his side again before tossing and turning… Damn he hated being woken up like that in the morning. Maybe getting such a troublesome roommate hadn't been a good idea after all.

With Hinata the house had always been so quiet. She had always been so considerate, making sure not to wake him up unnecessarily. He really needed to stop thinking about Hinata all the time. But it wasn't that easy. He supposed it would take time.

He closed his eyes and tried really hard to go back to sleep.

It didn't work. And eventually he thought, damn, Sasuke had been in the shower since forever. Well maybe not forever but still, he checked at the alarm clock and he read 6:50.

"What the hell?" he muttered, "If he randomly passed out again I swear…"

Well he didn't really know what he would do, but he would do something. Probably just yell at him. Again he removed himself from the sheets reluctantly and threw on his sweat pants. He made his way to the bathroom; the door wasn't locked.

"Sasuke? No you can't be serious… I mean really? In the bath tub?"

And while the shower was on at that. Yes, he seemed to be passed out in there. But as Naruto gripped the curtain he was a little bit shy to pull it. Well, he had seen him naked before. Okay, he decided he could at least pull it a little.

So he did and reached down to shake Sasuke's shoulder. The stream of warm water was splashing across his chest and stomach as Sasuke was just sleeping there, his head leaning back against the tiled wall and turned to the side.

"What the…" Naruto muttered as he shook his shoulder almost aggressively, "Sasuke wake up damn it!"

But instead, due to Naruto's actions he slid down in the tub, his legs folding and his body rolling on the side, one arm thrown next to his face.

Sasuke was swallowing water like this though. Inevitably he woke up in the most unpleasant way, as he started coughing uncontrollably. Naruto sighed; well, his fault for passing out in the shower like an idiot. Someone was paying for all that hot water. Speaking of which, maybe it was about time Naruto turned it off. Now he felt guilty for not doing it before. It was kind of his fault too if Sasuke was choking right now.

So he quickly moved to the other side of the bath tub and turned off the tap completely. Sasuke was still coughing.

"You okay?" Naruto said softly as he hesitantly touched his back.

When Sasuke calmed down and was able to breathe properly again, he placed his wet hair behind his pierced ears and turned his head to look at Naruto.

He whispered, "What the hell is wrong with me?"

Naruto was worried at first but then he wanted to smack himself across the face. Sasuke was gonna be just fine. They were just tired and being over dramatic. Besides, he realized something…

"Sasuke you didn't eat breakfast yesterday…" Naruto recalled out loud. It was true; Sasuke hadn't eaten anything because he was going to the clinic to get tested. "But did you eat something after that during the day at least?"

While he was talking Sasuke had moved and was now sitting in the middle of the tub, hugging his knees. He shook his head slightly.

"No…"

"Well there you have it. No wonder you're so sick. You got drunk with absolutely nothing in your stomach. You're such an idiot."

"Thanks for rubbing it in my face," he muttered.

"You deserve it." Naruto got up and threw a clean towel on Sasuke. "Now dry yourself and go to bed. Do you want me to wake you before I go to work?"

"No I'll put my alarm…"

"Your cell phone's dead."

"Oh, right," he got up slowly, his legs still trembling a little as he hid himself with the towel. He managed to wrap it around his hips but every movement seemed like an effort.

"I'll wake you at like, nine…" he sighed, "and I'll force you to eat something too. If you go to work like this you'll fucking die."

"I'll be fine I just need to sleep…" he stepped over the tub and onto the tiled floor but he stumbled and Naruto had to catch him.

"You doing it on purpose?" he said, half-amused, half-troubled, really, because he smelled good, and his skin was so warm, and wet, and soft…

"No you're the one that got in my way," Sasuke pushed him away and walked down the hallway. Naruto followed him, watching in disbelief as he walked down the stairs.

"Don't fall..."

"I'm fine," he snapped.

"You should be grateful! I can't believe you're talking to me like that."

"I am grateful," he whispered, leaning against the wall in the middle of the stairs. His dark eyes were sad as they locked with Naruto's, "I'm just… kinda ashamed right now. I'm being a shitty roommate. I kept you up last night didn't I? And now this morning I'm waking you early making so much noise like that…"

"It's okay," Naruto shrugged, "just don't make yourself sick like that again, please?"

He nodded, and sniffed a bit before scratching his messy wet hair. Blue eyes trailed on the pale, slender, yet toned body and the towel hanging low on those hips… Naruto shook his head.

"I'll come back to wake you at nine," he said before walking away.

…

But he couldn't sleep so instead Naruto went downstairs and to his office. Keiko apparently decided she felt like following him there. But when she randomly started biting his feet playfully Naruto put her outside and closed the door. She mewled for a few seconds then stopped. Naruto rolled his eyes; what an annoying little thing, adorable or not. He decided he really didn't care if Sasuke wanted to keep her, once he found a place of his own.

Naruto had come here because the light was much better, and most of his drawing material was already down here anyway. He would draw by memory… The image of Sasuke, just now, in the stairs, with just the towel, and his hair so messy yet so cute, dripping on his skin… Naruto was crept out by his own behavior.

But yeah instead of sleeping like he should he drew his new roommate again. He would soon have a real collection of drawings of Sasuke. Maybe he could try to sell them to Sakura or Ino – or any other girl for that matter – and make some money out of it at least. His silly thoughts made him smile.

There was no clock in this room and he didn't have his phone with him right now. So he had no way of knowing the time. He decided to just finish the drawing, certain it wasn't that late.

But when he walked out of the office a few moments later he was surprised as he passed the kitchen, and saw on the microwave that it was already 9:30. Damn, he would be late for work. Oh well, it wasn't the end of the world. In fact, it didn't really matter, as long as he finished his assignments in due time. And inspired as he was lately, Naruto was certain he could accomplish anything.

He went to peek at Sasuke's sleeping form on the sofa bed. Keiko at his feet. Cute, Naruto thought. He decided to let him sleep for now, while he went to take a quick shower. When he was done with that, he went to put on some stylish, fit dark blue jeans with a white button down shirt and a black blazer which he left open. He replaced his hair in front of the mirror, placing his bangs on the side and running his fingers through the rest in the hopes that it would dry nicely. Actually he liked having longer hair, it was a bit easier to style and it looked less crazy and spiky.

As he returned downstairs he went directly to the kitchen to make some breakfast. He wasn't a very good cook but even he could at least make eggs. He remembered Sasuke telling him he was a vegetarian except for sea food. What about eggs? Could he eat those? Oh well, if he said he couldn't then Naruto would force it down his throat. He didn't want the raven to randomly pass out on his first day at work.

Okay so he wasn't very good at making eggs after all. It was all scrambled and destroyed as he put it in the plate and the thing was he hadn't meant for it to be like that, but oh well. He also put a slightly toasted slice of bread in the plate and some cherry tomatoes. He recalled Sasuke telling him he loved those back at the grocery store on Sunday morning. Then he brought the plate to the living room. Now Sasuke wouldn't be able to tell him that he wasn't nice after this. Breakfast in bed, really, Naruto was reaching whole new nicety levels.

He sat on the mattress and shook Sasuke's shoulder. At least this time the raven didn't risk choking on water or anything. He just frowned and opened blurry dark eyes slowly.

"You… made me breakfast?" He chuckled and sat up, keeping the sheet above his waist with his hand, "that's so sweet."

"I know right. You better eat it."

"I'll… try," he said sincerely, "I hope I'm not sick again."

Naruto hoped so too. He said nothing and just watched as Sasuke picked up the plate. He started with the tomatoes and then chuckled nervously as he glanced at Naruto.

"Why are you watching me?"

"I wanna make sure you're eating."

"Fine…"

Sasuke ate slowly; it was clear he didn't have much appetite and still felt a bit sick. But at least he was trying. That was good enough for Naruto.

"I don't think I can eat all of it," Sasuke said in a little voice after eating half the toast and just a few tiny bites of egg.

"All right," the blonde said softly as he took back the plate, "it's okay. You should take it easy, after all. You want some coffee?"

"No…"

"Do you want some tea?" He tried again.

…Yeah okay."

Naruto smiled, "I can't be mad at you. Even hungover you're cute how can you pull that off?" He ruffled his hair before leaving the room.

He stopped in the hallway when he realized he had just called him cute. What the hell was wrong with him? Sasuke was his friend but… like; he'd never call Kiba or Shikamaru cute. He promised himself never to do it again.

Back in the kitchen he put some water to boil and ate his own breakfast. He was starving. He kept glancing out the window at the pale sunlight, lost in his thoughts. Keiko started pacing the room and mewling indignantly. Oh, so that thing was hungry again, huh?

"Sasuke! Come and feed your damn cat!"

He walked in the kitchen shortly after, wearing gray skinny jeans and a simple black t-shirt. Without a word he went to pick up the kitten food.

"You don't like her do you?" he said without looking at Naruto.

"Why should I?" He chuckled, "She doesn't like me either."

"I told you to give it some time. You'll see, she'll fall in love with you soon."

"How do you know that?"

"Intuition."

"Wow."

Naruto followed him to the next room, where all the stuff for their pet was. He picked up a blue and black pillow from the sofa behind him and threw it at Sasuke. In the process of feeding the little animal he didn't see it coming and was hit in the face. He then grabbed it and glared at Naruto.

Of course Sasuke threw it back at him. It kind of started a war. While their pet was eating as though she'd been starved for three weeks, Sasuke and the older male were throwing the pillow back and forth just like immature kids. But they got closer and eventually a repeat of their tickling/struggling episode started. Naruto didn't really know how they ended up like this, but he was on the floor on top of Sasuke and pinning him there while the raven struggled.

"I'm so stronger than you it's not even fair, you poor thing."

"Shut the fuck up and give me a break I'm hungover remember? Not feeling so well here."

Naruto pulled away. But it turned out he had been tricked. Sasuke took the chance to reverse their positions, pinning Naruto down and smirking.

"You lose," he said in his deep, low voice.

"You cheated."

"I didn't know there were rules."

"What the hell are we doing anyway?"

Sasuke shrugged, released his wrist only to smack his cheek lightly, before jumping to his feet, "Don't ask me," he said casually.

He proceeded to go put back the bag of cat food in the kitchen before Keiko could devour it completely, packaging included. As he got up Naruto was glaring.

"Did you just smack me?"

Sasuke looked up and met Naruto's angry blue eyes. The water started boiling but they ignored it. The raven ran away when Naruto approached. He wouldn't get away with this.

Sasuke ended up running away to the drawing office, and Naruto was right after him. But then he realized the drawing he had just done of Sasuke was exposed in there. Sure enough, before he could stop him, the raven was looking down at the sketch book, looking fascinated and freaked out all at once. He was about to turn the pages when Naruto grabbed his arm and yanked him away.

"I wanna see…" With his other arm Sasuke held onto the desk.

"No…" Naruto grabbed his waist instead, trying to pull him close only so that he could bring him away from this room. "This is my office all right? You're not supposed to come in here…"

"This is starting to freak me out," Sasuke was struggling and Naruto let him go, worried.

"What…?"

"Seriously," dark eyes locked with Naruto's and he indeed looked scared all of a sudden. He stepped away, "Why are you so obsessed with me?"

Naruto suddenly understood his fears. He knew his life story, after all. Maybe not in details but he knew enough.

"I can stop if you want," he tried to keep his voice as calm as possible. He stepped closer but Sasuke stepped back again. "Sasuke," he sighed, "I'm not gonna do anything to you, I'm straight remember?"

He seemed to relax a little at this, to remember who he had in front of him. Naruto made a little sad smile.

"I know it can seem creepy. I really just like to draw you, that's it, but like I said I can stop if you want."

"No…" he closed his eyes and only reopened them after a few seconds, "I'm sorry I have… a headache right now, and I'm tired, I'm just… freaking out for no reason. You don't have to stop I don't even know why I reacted like that."

"No it's fine I understand."

Sasuke cleared his throat lightly but didn't speak. Naruto shifted from one leg to the other and bit his lip.

"Anyway I gotta go to work. You're gonna be okay? You know how to get to the restaurant?"

"Yeah I'll look it up properly this time, to know where I'm going," he chuckled dryly and scratched his hair, looking down, "and I'll charge my cell phone so…"

"Good."

Naruto walked toward the entryway, making sure he had all his stuff for work. Sasuke went to unplug the kettle, then followed him quietly.

"Hey I'm… sorry about freaking out," he motioned toward the office. "I don't even know…"

"I already told you it's okay."

But Sasuke's eyes were frantically searching his. The big, almost black irises were so expressive, Naruto found himself thinking, he could never get tired of looking at them. Besides, Sasuke had long eyelashes for a guy, and perfect, fine eyebrows. All of him was simply beautiful – to Naruto it was obvious why he liked drawing him. But maybe he would try not to do it for a while; perhaps it would be for the best.

Right now, though, Sasuke's eyes seemed to simply be asking, are we good? Naruto made a little smile and ruffled his hair.

"Do your best at work."

"Yeah…" Sasuke said in a low voice as he watched Naruto leave.

…

Naruto worked well, he was effective and didn't even take a lunch break. He finished two projects that day, and as he went to give them to his boss Tenten was all smiles, accepting them since Jiraya was out, while flirting with him a little. Naruto wondered if she had heard what happened to him from other employees, or if she simply didn't know. In any case, she definitely liked him already, which frightened him a little. He wasn't ready to start dating again.

A colleague artist named Sai came to talk to him for a while after that. He leaned against the wall of the small office while Naruto sat at his desk, looking up at his friend casually.

"You weren't here yesterday were you?"

"No I had a fever so I called in sick," the pale, short-haired male informed. "So how was your vacation? You seem better."

"I am," Naruto nodded, smiling as he crossed his arms. "It was fine, I guess I needed it."

"I really need to get back to work right now," he said apologetically, "but do you want to go out for dinner tonight? My treat; I really want to talk to you."

"Uh, okay…"

This was a bit out of the blue. Sai was a friend from work but nothing more. They had never seen each other outside of the office before. But Naruto accepted anyway. He figured Sasuke would work the whole evening at the restaurant so he might as well go with Sai. Besides if he was paying then all the more reason.

…

Leaving their cars in the parking of the company, the two young men simply walked across the street, and then a few blocks to a fancy sea food restaurant. Since it was so close to work, they had both been there a few times before, and knew it was good.

It turned out the evening was a little bit awkward. The reason why Sai had wanted to talk to him was that he had lost his boyfriend recently. Naruto didn't know if Sai expected them to bond over this, or if he just needed someone to talk to. In any case, the blonde listened intently, and he felt sorry for Sai.

They ate without much appetite, understandably, considering the heavy subject at hand. Sai mentioned his boyfriend had been older, and had aids. Naruto's thoughts immediately went out to Sasuke. He couldn't wait for the raven to get his results from the blood test at the clinic. What if he had it too? What if he died way too young just like Sai's boyfriend? His heart clenched in his chest and a lump formed in his throat. He swallowed painfully and drank some water as he continued listening to Sai.

"I was with him two years, so it's been hard to readjust."

"I know what you mean, believe me…"

"He really changed me," Sai ran his fingers through short black hair, "he showed me how to express my feelings properly, and that was big for me. Sometimes I feel like, I don't even know how I'm gonna live without him."

Naruto made a slight shrug, "I guess we just have to keep trying, and hope to… I don't know, feel better, move on… But hey if you need to talk to a professional I can give you my therapist's number. Tell him you're my friend he'll definitely make room for you in his schedule."

"I'll think about it, thanks," Sai took out his cell and Naruto did likewise, so he was able to tell him the Kakashi's office number.

He smiled inwardly; he was doing advertising for Kakashi, it seemed.

"He can be a little weird, like if you enter his office and he's reading some weird stuff don't panic. He's really good at what he does, once the session starts and it's all that matters right?"

"What do you mean weird stuff?" Sai raised a brow.

"Like, you know those hentai manga…"

"Oh, I read those too. Well I mean, the yaoi ones."

"Oh, I never read that. Is it any good?"

"Most of them are really silly," Sai admitted with a little amused smile. "Insert lame excuse for smut, if you know what I mean. I wouldn't recommend it especially if you're straight."

"Right…"

The conversation became awkward again. They were finished eating and didn't really know what to tell each other. Now that he was apparently done talking about emotional stuff, Sai wasn't talking much at all anymore. Sometimes he just stared at Naruto intently, as though expecting him to pop out some deep, meaningful philosophical statement all of a sudden. Naruto shifted in his seat uneasily. The truth was, he didn't know Sai that well outside of work so he didn't know what to talk about.

He received a text message from Sasuke and frowned as he checked his cell. It said, I got fired, fml.

Naruto looked up at Sai and told him he was just gonna make a quick phone call.

"Sure no problem," Sai said.

Naruto dialed but Sasuke didn't pick up the phone. Annoyed Naruto just texted him instead, Are you okay? What happened?

"Sorry," he told Sai and they resumed their – or lack of – conversation.

They got the bill soon after and Sai paid as promised. He reassured Naruto, telling him that it was his pleasure and that he had enjoyed talking to him. They stepped outside of the restaurant, and as they walked back to their cars Sai was quiet again.

"Well thanks so much," Naruto smiled before reaching his orange Mitsubishi eclipse.

Not too far, Sai stopped next to his own black car and smiled back, "No problem, we should do this again some time, maybe go out for drinks."

"Yeah…" he answered though a bit hesitantly. Going out for drinks with Sai? He wasn't sure if that was a good idea. He pictured himself sitting on bar stool quietly next to the short-haired male while sipping at drinks and searching his mind thoroughly for something non-awkward to say.

Anyway, Naruto was just eager to get home to Sasuke now, so he hurried up. How could Sasuke be fired so quickly? It didn't make any sense… The young male was so charming and smart. Then Naruto remembered Sasuke wasn't so charming when surrounded by strangers. He bit his lip as he drove through the cold night, wondering just what had happened exactly.

So he got to his house, simply stepping inside since the door was already unlocked. The television was on and a horror movie was playing, while Sasuke sat in the black sofa chair, Keiko purring in his lap. Naruto went to sit on the couch right next to him.

"Hey…"

Sasuke didn't look at him. He leaned forward and without a word picked up his worn leather wallet on the coffee table. He took out some bills and shoved them at Naruto.

"What the hell? That's a lot of money. You couldn't have made that just…"

Sasuke cut him harshly, "Just shut up and take it."

"No…" Naruto protested.

But Sasuke simply dropped the bills and they fell on Naruto's lap. He had no choice but to pick them up.

"You're being so childish right now; just tell me what the hell happened."

"Don't ask," Sasuke muttered still averting his eyes. He wasn't paying any attention to the people being slaughtered on screen either. His pale hand caressed the black fur of the small animal absentmindedly.

Naruto looked at him properly. He looked tired, and he was still pale. Maybe he still felt sick.

"Did you throw up again? Were you sick at work?"

"Hearing problem?" He hissed, "I said, don't ask."

"Sasuke don't you think you owe me an explanation?" He was getting angry at his childish behavior now. He put the money down on the coffee table and crossed his arms, frowning, "I went through the trouble of asking Chouji for the job and…"

Finally the raven stared at him, "You think I don't know that? You think I don't feel like shit right now?"

Naruto sighed, "If you just tell me what happened, maybe at least I can understand."

"I fucked up okay?" Sasuke raised his voice and Keiko jumped off his lap, frightened. "I wasn't all nice and smiling waiter with customers, I couldn't pull it off I knew it from the start but I figured I'd try anyway…" He swallowed and looked down, "I don't know what else to say."

"It's okay, I guess you can try to find something else. It's not for everyone," Naruto's voice softened, "In fact I don't think I could pull it off either. Well for different reasons maybe; I'd probably confuse the orders and spill drinks and food everywhere."

The raven said nothing. Naruto sighed again.

"But how the hell did you make so much money? And why are you giving it to me?"

"Because I owe you. You paid for most of my clothes. I'm living in your house without paying any rent or groceries. I use your shower, your laptop, I use everything and I just feel like an asshole. So just shut up and take the damn cash."

"I wanna know where it comes from," he insisted, "I mean for all I know you stole it."

"Okay I know we don't know each other that well but really, Naruto?" He turned to look at him with cold dark eyes, "I'm not a thief and you know it."

"I was just trying to make you spill, we both know that too," he replied, unfazed.

Sasuke bit his bottom lip slightly and sighed shakily, "You wanna know? Fine, I'll tell you. After being… rude to some customers the owner saw me in his office. He fired me but he said if I needed cash I could maybe help him with something else. So that's it."

"But wait, I don't under…"

"Are you an idiot?" He lowered his voice, "I gave him a hand job..."

Naruto's heart sank low, this was what he feared. He pressed a hand to his temple before running his fingers through his hair messing it up slightly in the process.

"Sasuke… you shouldn't have done that. I can't accept this money…"

In a little voice, and suddenly looking so vulnerable, the raven said, "Please take it. It's not that big a deal."

His dark eyes were suddenly so big, so pleading, and full of contained tears. Naruto understood; Sasuke felt so bad for owing him money and losing the job on the first day that he had probably done that for him only. Just like when he had accepted Deidara's money. But Naruto needed to set things straight here, so to speak. He moved closer so that he could grab Sasuke's shoulder and stare him right in the eye.

"Fine I'll take it but you have to promise me something. You'll never do that again. I don't care how much money you owe me. Never do that again, you got it?"

"…F-Fine I'm… I'm sorry I…" he looked down and his raven bangs hid his eyes. Naruto sighed for what seemed like the hundredth time and pulled away.

He fell down in the couch again, "What are you gonna do now?"

"I'll figure it out."

"I'll ask if there's a part time job for you at my work tomorrow."

"You don't have to…"

"Oh Sasuke stop being so emo. What happened today… it's not the end of the world okay? Give yourself some time."

He looked at Naruto, and chuckled lightly, "I know. I got one of the used violins online today. Now I just gotta wait for it to be shipped here. I hope it's gonna be okay…"

"How did you pay for it?"

"My credit card," he said as if it were obvious. Well it was, but at the same time…

"You shouldn't use your credit card if you've got no money in your bank account Sasuke you won't be able to pay it back."

He rolled his eyes, "Damn. Did you study finance?"

"Sasuke…"

"Playing music is pretty much the only thing I can do. If you don't want me to go around giving hand jobs than shut up and let me do my thing. I can play in subway stations like I did back home, and maybe find a job as a back up musician… Whatever comes up."

Naruto said nothing. He was a little bit angry at Sasuke right now. Really, he could've tried to be nicer to the customers at the restaurant to keep the job for a little while. And he didn't have to threaten Naruto like that. He felt horrified enough that he'd felt forced to do it earlier this evening.

So Naruto got up and without a word went upstairs and to his bedroom. He didn't talk to Sasuke again that night.