AN: I forgot to post this on FF |D My bad, sorry. On that note, at least I can warn that chapters will be coming later. My friend ran into financial difficulties so I offered commissions to help her out, so I've got a lot of work to do before I can get back to this. Sorry :S
Disclaimer: K. Masashi's bitches.
Two Hours Earlier.
If there was any sound on the planet more infuriating than an alarm clock, Naruto had yet to be introduced to it, because as it stood, he wanted to smash the damn thing into nothingness. But he acknowledged that it wasn't the machine's fault. He'd been the one to set it, after all, for this ungodly hour of the morning.
Nine in the morning was ungodly to anyone who went to bed past midnight every day. He dared anyone to refute that claim.
Groaning, he rolled himself out of bed and began grabbing some clothes on auto-pilot, managing to put his shirt on inside out, and then cursing and fixing his mistake when he noticed it. Brushing his teeth and running his hand through his hair a few times, he went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water, not bothering with breakfast since he knew he was probably going to get stuffed like a turkey in less than ten minutes.
He was in the process of writing his mother a note when she shuffled into the kitchen, doing a good impersonation of a zombie. Naruto had to cover his laugh with a cough.
"Good morning."
She turned to glare at him. "What's good about this morning?"
"Um, you're still alive?" He smirked. "And you had fun? I wish it was snowing, I'd make you go out and shovel the walk as punishment for overindulging," he teased.
Kushina snorted and opened the fridge to find something to eat. Upon coming up with nothing, she closed it and turned to her son. "Make me something."
"Can't. Kiba's coming to get me. We're going Christmas shopping." He held up the note he'd been in the process of writing.
"Mutt allowed on our side of the ocean this time?"
"According to his message, yes." Naruto leaned back against the counter, watching his mother peruse the fridge's contents again. "His mom wants something from some random store in London, so we're gonna be driving out there to do our shopping."
"London's pretty far, Naruto." Kushina turned to him, holding a container of rice in her hand. Naruto felt a stab of possessiveness when he noticed it was Sasuke's rice, but didn't say anything.
"We'll be back before the end of the night, I promise." The blond drained his drink and turned to the sink in order to avoid looking at his mother as she spooned out some of the rice. She hadn't even bothered to ask where it had come from.
"Well, knowing Kiba, if it cuts too close, he'll probably get you both tickets to fly down and back."
Naruto had to snort, because it was so true. The brunet was the most impatient person he knew, and besides, the Inuzuka had a curfew. If he wasn't on his side of Europe before the end of the night, Tsume was probably going to skin him alive.
The familiar sound of an engine could be heard down the street, and Kushina winced, the noise obviously not doing much for her headache. Smiling slightly and feeling justified, Naruto kissed her cheek and then went to wait for Kiba at the bottom of the driveway.
The car neared him, and he jumped in before it had even fully stopped, strapping himself in and motioning for the brunet to continue onwards.
"Morning, fucknut," was the greeting the other decided to grace him with. "You're a bastard faggot, you know that?"
"Gee, nice to see you, too." Naruto rolled his eyes.
"I'm serious, asshole. You left me hanging for two fuckin' days. What, too busy fucking your imaginary girlfriend?"
"He's not imaginary." Naruto sighed for what felt like the millionth time.
Kiba'd never let him hear the end of it the previous night when he'd finally called the other back. He kept insisting Naruto was making Sasuke up, because he refused to talk about him, let him meet him, and wouldn't even provide him with a name. To Kiba, with all those factors, that meant he didn't exist.
Naruto had to wonder if things would be less complicated were that true. He wasn't even going to consider ditching his friendship with Kiba over this, but the attraction and almost frightening need for Sasuke made him unwilling to cut the raven out of his life, either.
"Whatever."
He couldn't tell if Kiba was more annoyed at being ignored, or if he was angry Naruto hadn't saved him from his mother sooner than this. He supposed probably a little bit of both. It wasn't normal for the blond to do this, and he immediately felt guilty for rejecting his calls.
"Hey, dude, I'm sorry. Things are just a little—well, sensitive right now. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend doesn't like you."
Naruto almost choked on his seatbelt, though he was glad he was wearing it, otherwise he would have flown through the windshield with the force behind Kiba's brake. Luckily they were on a fairly deserted road, or else someone would have probably crashed into the brunet's rear bumper. Naruto supposed that was the only reason Kiba'd hit the brakes; he never would have risked a scratch on his baby. It didn't matter that he only got to drive it once a year, it was still his favourite car.
"What do you mean your boyfriend doesn't like me?!" Kiba exploded, rounding on Naruto as if it were his fault. "I am fantastically likeable! I am like, the coolest person ever! How could your dumbass boyfriend not like me?! Does he have some kind of brain disorder?!"
"Would you lower the decibels a little?" Naruto winced, bringing his hands up to cover his ears. He felt like Kiba was overreacting just a little bit.
"Putain, qu'est ce que tu lui as dit?! C'est pas comme j'l'ai rencontré alors comment est-ce-que ce p'tit con peut te dire qu'il m'aime pas?!" (1)
Naruto didn't have to understand French to know that Kiba was blaming him. Of course he was, there was no one else to blame, and why would Kiba ever blame himself? Naruto rolled his eyes again.
"Look, as far as I can tell, he hates how close we are. He got jealous every time my phone rang, and saw us wrestling in the snow that first day you came down. He's possessive."
Kiba snorted and started driving again. "Great. You're both going to be so possessive of one another, no one will ever see you guys again."
"I'm not possessive!" Naruto insisted, scowling. He didn't know where Kiba got that ridiculous idea.
"Sure, sure." The brunet pulled a cigarette out of the glove box and struck a match against his face, as per usual, lighting the cancer stick and throwing the match out the window. After inhaling deeply, he continued. "You remember when you were dating Gaara. No wonder the guy broke up with you, you were so possessive you followed him to class."
"That was just one time!" Naruto insisted, starting to feel his defences rising. "And so what? I'm possessive of everybody in a non-possessive way."
"Uh huh. Sure, sure." Kiba shook his head and turned smoothly onto the highway. "When do I get to meet him, anyway? It's not like you to procrastinate."
"I told you, there are complications."
Naruto didn't want to talk about it. He almost regretted coming out with Kiba today, if only because he knew the other was going to spend the entire time trying to get information about Sasuke out of him, and he didn't want that. He wanted to have fun, and not have to skirt around Sasuke with his friend the way he skirted around Kiba with the raven.
Why did I do this to myself? he thought with a sigh, looking out the window and watching the scenery pass. He smiled every now and then when some people turned to give the car a double-take, but they were quickly gone from his line of sight due to the speed with which Kiba drove.
"You're going to have to fess up eventually," Kiba grunted a few minutes later, obviously having stewed about it for a while. "I'm your best friend, unless that's changed, too."
"Oh, grow up," Naruto snapped. "Stop being such a child. Just because I won't tell you about him doesn't mean we're not still as close as we've always been."
"Whatever."
Naruto just growled and looked out the window again, getting annoyed and wishing once more he'd said no to this invitation. He'd been anticipating a fun day with lots of joking and laughing, and all he got was a grumpy Kiba, and an empty stomach. He wanted to go home. At least at home, he'd get to hang out with Sasuke, who wasn't nearly as annoying when it came to finding out information about Kiba.
They drove in silence for nearly half an hour before both of their stomachs began to rumble loudly, and Kiba couldn't ignore that fact anymore. He turned off at the first exit and asked what Naruto wanted. The blond grunted that anything would do, so Kiba pulled into the parking lot of a McDonalds and climbed out.
Naruto got them seats while the brunet ordered for them, glaring out the window and trying to see things from Kiba's perspective. He had to admit, if the other had been keeping his new boyfriend a secret, he'd probably be a little miffed, too, but he felt Kiba was taking things too far. Then again, he always did, so Naruto supposed he had to cut him a little bit of slack. His friend had always been one to overreact.
When the tray was placed in front of him, he opened his sandwich without a word and took a bite, watching Kiba dump a whole bunch more ketchup onto his burger before even thinking of picking it up.
"I think I get it," the brunet suddenly whispered. Naruto's chewing slowed.
"Get it?"
"Why you won't tell me. I think I get it. I'm not going to pretend I'm right, but based on everything..." Kiba shrugged, his eyes still on his food. "I'm a little annoyed you think so badly of me, if it's what I think it is, but I'll let you admit your mistakes in your own time."
He finally picked the burger up and took a bite, a large dollop of ketchup falling out of the other end and landing on the waxy paper it had been wrapped in.
"Does that mean you're gonna drop this?"
Kiba just nodded, wiping his thumb across the corner of his mouth and sucking the ketchup off it. "For now. But just remember, you're not gonna be able to hide me forever."
"Never said I was going to. I just need time, is all." Naruto suddenly found he wasn't quite as hungry and he'd been a few minutes ago. He had to wonder if his father was right. About Kiba. About Sasuke. About everything.
Maybe he wasn't giving either of them enough credit. But then again, there was no guarantee Kiba had guessed right. No offense to his friend, but he wasn't exactly the smartest person in the world. But—his dad was pretty smart. And Minato had said that Kiba would be cool with it, but even if Naruto wanted to believe that, there was still Sasuke.
God, this is all just so fucked up... Naruto covered his face with his hands, taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm himself down.
Whatever happened, now that Kiba was aware of what he assumed was going on, it meant that Naruto would hopefully be able to have a few hours peace, and would just be able to enjoy himself with his best friend. No questions, no sneaking around, no nothing. Just him, Kiba, and some ridiculousness. This past week felt like the longest seven days of his life.
"Eat your food, fucknut, I'm not stopping again," Kiba said around a mouthful of burger. "And stop feeling sorry for yourself. I'll drop it if you stop being a baby."
"You're the baby," Naruto insisted with a small smile, easily moving back into their usual banter. He was thankful for his relationship with Kiba. He felt, now, like even if shit hit the fan with Sasuke, Kiba'd still be around for him. And that was all he was worried about, really. He didn't want to lose him.
So at least if things exploded, all he'd have to do is convince Sasuke not to leave him. It seemed Kiba was there for the whole ride. Well, he always had been, so Naruto laughed at how dumb he'd been.
"God, man, my brain is just jumping around now. I think I'm fucked one second, and then feel dumb for doubting you, and then think I'm fucked, and then—"
"And so on, and so forth." Kiba rolled his eyes, shoving a fry into his mouth. "I get it, blondie. I'm insulted, but I get it." He smirked.
Snorting, Naruto went back to eating his burger, chewing it slowly while he thought things over, trying to decide if he should just tell Kiba about Sasuke now. He decided to wait a little longer. Once he told Kiba, he'd have to tell Sasuke, and that was something he wanted to procrastinate a little longer. Especially considering how things had gone a few days ago.
"Merde." Naruto looked up when Kiba spoke, the brunet shifting in his seat and reaching into his pocket. He sighed and flipped open his phone, putting it to his ear. The blond couldn't help but smirk. "Oui, Maman?"
"Hi momma," he called loudly.
"Yeah, Naruto says hi." Kiba picked up a fry and used it to move the others across his tray. "I'm in England, like I said." He dropped the fry. "Maman, come on! You told me you wanted that thing from London! I told you I was coming to get it today!"
A grin slowly made its way across the blond's face as he watched the stress slowly building in his friend's body. It was somewhat comical how scared Kiba was of his mother.
"Putain, tu m'as dit que tu voulais quelque chose de Londre, et j'ai demandé! Ouais, j'ai demandé! Maman, I asked you! You said I had to be back before ten tonight!" Kiba was covering his face with his free hand now, letting out deep sighs. "I'm not going to go partying with Naruto! He has things to do tonight!" (2)
The blond snickered and Kiba parted his fingers to glare hatefully at his friend, then continued on the phone.
"I don't know, Maman, I'm not his keeper. He's going to go fuck his boyfriend."
Naruto couldn't hold back the laughter, he just exploded and started slapping the table at Kiba's absolute terror when the end of that sentence hit, because he'd said the word "fuck" to his mother.
They'd finished eating and were back in the car for close to twenty minutes before Kiba could finally get a word in, and apologize, and promise his mother he'd be home before ten. He hung up the phone after that, paused for one second, and then started hitting Naruto hard in the arm.
"Ow! Ow!" Naruto exclaimed, unable to help laughing even as pain shot up his arm from where the other was hitting him. "Ow, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"You're so not sorry, you jackass!" Kiba hit him once more for good measure, then threw his phone into the back of the car, letting out an angry grunt. "God, that woman is insane! And annoying as fuck! She was all over me coming here yesterday because she wanted her stupid present, and now she's all—ugh!" He slapped his steering wheel hard, Naruto trying to muffle his laughter.
"Dude, she probably just remembered this morning that I was here. You know she's scared you'll never come home." He grinned.
"Yeah, and then she wonders why dad left her!"
The grin fell off the blond's face so fast it was like someone hit an off-switch. He pressed his lips together and looked out the front window, not quite sure what to say. Kiba only ever brought up the fact that his dad had walked out when he was really mad at his mother, and even then, the second the words left his mouth, he felt like shit.
Naruto could tell the "feeling like shit" part was starting, and the brunet was beating himself up for having said that. It was weird, this entire day hadn't gone anything like he'd imagined, and he knew it was partly his fault. He wanted to fix it, but it was hard. How did one fix something like this?
"We were live roleplaying." He didn't have to tell him everything, but he knew hearing just a little bit would make Kiba feel better.
"What?"
Oh yeah, he hates himself, Naruto thought with a wince, hearing the self-hatred in that one word. He hoped he would be able to distract him.
"When you kept calling me the other day? We were roleplaying." He forced a smile and turned to look at Kiba, the other glancing at him briefly out of the corner of his eye, then looking back at the road. "He has this one window downstairs that's never locked, and I climbed through it once. When his parents left the house, I went over and kept ringing the doorbell and the stupid bastard took his sweet-ass time making it downstairs, so I went around the house to climb through the window and—"
"That's called breaking and entering, you know," Kiba interrupted. Naruto was happy to see the beginnings of a smirk on the other's face.
"You know, that's what he said! Which led to the roleplaying." The blond grinned genuinely this time. "I climbed through the window and then we just—started talking about how I was breaking in, and I told him he loved it, and one thing led to another, and we were playing around. I pretended to be breaking in, and he was still home when I thought the family was out. We fought a little bit, and he got hard, and I was so turned on that I threw him to the ground and—"
"Dude!" Kiba shouted loudly, Naruto pausing and turning to look at him. "I don't wanna know! I'll stick with—you guys were fighting and good times were had, and oh Christ, I have a visual." Kiba whined, shaking the wheel he was holding slightly. "Why did you have to go and do that?!"
"You know, Kiba, you shouldn't act like being with a guy is the end of the world." Naruto smirked. These were the kind of trips he loved having with his best friend. The more uncomfortable he made Kiba, the funnier the excursion. "I mean, think about it: blowjobs from girls are amazing, it's true, but you know what you like, right? Well, it's so easy to please a guy, or for that guy to please you because you both know what feels good! Trust me, I dare you to get one from a dude and tell me it wasn't the best you've ever had."
Kiba snorted, checked the rearview mirror, and switched lanes. "That'll be the day."
"You've gone pretty far while drunk, Kiba." Naruto knew he was treading on dangerous ground here, but he wanted Kiba to stop being such a prude. The guy needed to broaden his horizons.
"What does that mean?" The brunet's face paled. "How far?!"
"Oh, calm down." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I've never taken advantage of you, but let's just say you're an amazing kisser when you're not being all tense about kissing a guy."
He half-expected Kiba to slam on the brakes again, but instead, the other just impersonated a fish, his mouth opening and closing a few times before he finally just fumed silently in his corner. Naruto laughed and turned on the radio, looking out the window at the passing scenery once more.
"You better not have fucked him," Kiba suddenly said in a low voice. The blond smiled slightly, if only because he remembered his friend's condition, and then focussed on watching the trees pass while thinking about the conversation he and Kiba had just had.
It was weird to think of how it might have gone had he not met Sasuke. Naruto enjoyed his fair share of flirtations and relationships, but he'd always had a crush on Kiba, and had often thought of having this conversation with him, if only to see if maybe he could convince the other to try things. They made out in clubs all the time, even if Kiba was visibly uncomfortable, so why couldn't they try at home?
Now, the idea seemed like a distant memory. Sasuke was all he could think about, and while having some sort of relationship with Kiba was appealing, it definitely didn't hold his interest as much as it would have a week ago. It was why the whole situation with Sasuke was so terrifying. Losing him was horrifying, but losing Kiba wasn't an option, either. And he'd exhausted the thought, but it kept coming back. He just didn't want anything to happen. He was so scared of losing them both, and by keeping them apart, he knew he would, but by bringing them together—he just wanted to enjoy the brief period he could have with them. Was that so selfish? And unfair? To want to keep them both?
It wasn't like he was cheating on Sasuke. And it wasn't like he was replacing Kiba. They were both two important parts of his life, it wasn't like he was choosing one over the other. In fact, he was doing his very best not to, even though ignoring all of Kiba's phonecalls had been sort of assholeish. But he felt justified. If Sasuke called today, he wouldn't answer, either. It wasn't fair to Kiba. Even if he really, really wanted to answer, he wouldn't.
"Hey," he whispered, turning to look at Kiba. The other glanced at him to show he was listening, a cigarette in his left hand. Naruto hadn't even noticed he'd lit one. "You're my best friend, you know that, right?"
"As corny as you're being, yes, I know that." Kiba inhaled on his cigarette, blowing the smoke out the open window and letting his hand rest against the sill. "Why?"
"You trust me, don't you?"
"I have to, otherwise our entire relationship is fucked."
"I'm being serious." Naruto scowled. "You do trust me, right?"
"Is this about the boyfriend again?" Kiba sighed, flicking ash off the end of his cigarette and bringing it back to his mouth. He inhaled before answering the other's question, smoke escaping from between his lips as he continued. "You're the one who said you didn't wanna talk about him, so stop bringing it up."
"I know." Naruto rubbed his face. "I just—I don't wanna lose you over this. I don't want you to ditch me because I'm taking too long to tell you about him. But..."
"But you're scared he'll ditch if you talk about it now." Kiba nodded to himself slowly, biting the inside of his cheek. Naruto nodded, watching his friend closely. The brunet was silent for a while, then shrugged and finished off his cigarette, flicking it out the window. "Well, if the asshole can't handle this, I don't think your relationship is meant to be."
Opening his mouth to argue, Kiba continued too quickly for Naruto to get a word out.
"But, I acknowledge this one is more important to you than past ones, so I'll try and be patient, even though I'm like, one-hundred percent sure now that I know what the deal is."
"If you say so," Naruto said, unsure of what else he could reply with. He went back to looking out the window.
It didn't take them much longer to reach their destination, and after parking in the underground lot, the two of them made their way up to the mall. Both of them let out huge sighs as they saw all the people, and then shared a look.
"You owe me, man."
Snorting, Kiba led the way. "You have shopping to do, too. Don't even try and pull that with me." He turned to grin at his friend. "We can find something for your girlfriend."
"Will you stop calling him that?" Naruto huffed angrily, narrowing his eyes and shoving his hands in his pockets. Though Kiba was right, now would be the perfect opportunity to buy something for Sasuke. He didn't know what yet, but something.
"Ah, yes!" Kiba slapped his hands together and hurried towards a shop, Naruto trailing behind him. He could only assume it was the shop he needed to buy his mother's present. When he entered, he almost gagged due to the intense smell. That was when he clued in that it was a perfume store, and he had to wonder what kind of perfume Mrs. Inuzuka wanted that made it only available in London. Surely they had these places in France?
"Sweet." Kiba grabbed a bottle off the shelf and brought it to the checkout, where the woman proceeded to ring him through and then wrap it up so perfectly, Naruto was almost in awe. His mother sucked at wrapping presents—so did he and his father—so seeing things perfectly wrapped like that was unbelievable.
"How do people wrap so well?" Naruto inquired once they'd left the shop. "I mean, is there a secret school I don't know about? Even you wrap well!"
"I'm a little insulted by how you stressed the 'you' in your sentence." Kiba scowled at his friend, then held his hand out to the side, the perfume clutched in it. It was taken from his grip and Naruto opened his mouth to shout something when he turned around and almost jumped out of his skin.
"Don't do that!" He shouted at Hidan, who'd been standing literally right behind him with a horrifying expression on his face, waiting for Naruto to turn around. "God!"
"You guys are late," was all Kiba said.
He didn't say it in an annoyed tone, it was more teasing, and the grin on his face just confirmed that. Clearly, he was pleased with the speed of his car with relation to other people's.
"We apologize for the delay, sir." Kakuzu bowed slightly, holding Kiba's purchase in his hands.
"Ugh, Kiba! Call me..." The brunet let himself trail off, then just sighed and shook his head, turning to continue through the mall. Naruto snickered, following along beside him.
Though the day had been agonizingly long—neither boy enjoyed shopping much—it had been eventful. Naruto had managed to find an additional gift for his mother, and something much better than the ties he'd bought his father. Of course, he and Kiba had bought each other gifts on the spot when one of them showed interest, and had agreed to wrap them for show and put them under their trees. It was corny, but hey, it was Christmas.
"Well, I think that's about it," Kiba said, checking his watch. "It's almost five. If you're done, we can start heading back and stop for a bite to eat on the way. Unless you wanted to eat here or something."
"I'd rather eat here." Naruto grinned at him, enjoying the way he didn't have any bags to carry when he shopped with Kiba. Kakuzu and Hidan took them all. "We passed a sushi bar earlier upstairs, and I am all over that."
"Sounds good." He turned abruptly, the blond following him so they could head to the escalator. "Hey," he said, turning once they were on the steps and regarding Naruto, "you didn't find anything for your boytoy, did you?"
"Nah, but it's cool. I'm sure I'll find something." The blond shrugged. "I saw a few things, but I want something to really jump out at me, you know? I don't wanna get him something just for the sake of getting something. I want it to be... I don't know. Special."
Kiba stared at him a few seconds, and then snorted so hard Naruto was sure it had hurt. "That was so corny, dude. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a girl."
"We can always test that theory, if you like. There are bathrooms around." Naruto grinned, and enjoyed the way Kiba's face paled. His friend really was too much of a riot for his own good.
"J't'hais," the brunet grumbled, stepping off the escalators and walking in the direction the sushi restaurant was in. (3)
Naruto just laughed, shaking his head, and made a note to find out what that meant, since Kiba said it to him a lot. He was pretty sure it was nothing nice, but with the brunet, hardly anything ever was.
Just as he passed the last shop to catch up to Kiba at the podium of the restaurant, he paused and frowned slightly. He was feeling that same urge he'd had the first day he'd met Sasuke. When something had just compelled him to go outside. Now, it was compelling him to enter the store, and hey, after what had happened last time, he was all for listening to his instincts.
So, he turned and entered the store, noting it was much quieter than any of the others he'd been to recently. It had a kind of calm feel to it, and he noticed most of the things around him looked old. Well, not old, per se, but like they were antiques, or trying to imitate antiques. He liked them, they looked nice.
"Can I help you?"
He turned when a man came out of the back room, smiling at him. Naruto just shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"I'm not sure yet. I'm just looking."
"Please," the man motioned his store, "take your time."
"Thanks."
It was around that time that Kiba showed up, complaining about being hungry even though he'd spoken about stopping on the way home. Evidently, he was just tired of shopping, and wanted to get the hell out of the store.
Naruto just ignored him and continued to look around, running his fingers over the smooth surface of an intricately carved chair, and leaning closer to inspect some oil paintings. Just when he was starting to think his intuition had been wrong, his eyes fell on a large, leather-bound journal. Frowning, he moved over to it and picked it up, flipping it over in his hands.
It looked old, and he was sure it must have been filled with text, but when he undid the leather binding and pulled it open, he found the pages blank. His heart rate increased slightly as he thought of giving this to his boyfriend, even though he couldn't entirely explain why. It just seemed—so perfect.
"Is this a present?" He started, and turned to see the shopkeeper standing closeby. Kiba was lingering near the till, though he'd found something interesting on one of the neighbouring tables, if his expression was any indication.
"Sorry?" Naruto snapped himself out of his musings.
"This journal. Were you thinking of giving it to someone?"
"Er, yeah." The blond felt a little uneasy talking about his Christmas shopping with a random shopkeeper.
"An interesting choice. Giving someone an empty book as a present denotes your desire to know their every thought."
Looking back at the book, Naruto felt he'd have liked to know what goes on in the raven's head every now and then. Slowly, he closed the book and bound it again, watching his hands as they worked. He was about to start putting the book down again, but his hands wouldn't obey. It was like this book was the perfect present, and his body wouldn't let him not get it.
Sighing in defeat, he grinned at the shopkeeper and headed for the till, Kiba grumbling something in French—obviously cursing at Naruto—and put the book down on the counter.
"How much is it, anyway?" The blond pulled his wallet out and started to count out his cash when he froze at the man's answer.
"Five-hundred and seventy-two dollars."
"You're joking, right? Six-hundred bucks for this?" He motioned the book.
The shopkeeper shrugged. "It takes a lot to make it. This is an antique store. It's expected that the prices will be high."
Naruto didn't have that kind of money. Even if he wanted to spend that much on Sasuke, he couldn't, he just wasn't that rich, especially considering he'd spent tons of money buying stuff earlier in the day.
He was disappointed, now. He'd found the perfect present, and just as quickly, he'd lost it. Now he was going to have to start over. Well, at least he knew he could get him a book, just—it wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't find another book this perfect.
Sighing, he put his wallet back and apologized to the man on the other side of the counter. Smacking Kiba in the arm, he led the way out of the store, only to pause at the door when his friend called that he'd meet him there. Naruto noticed he was holding an oddly-shaped stone and snorted. The other was weird sometimes.
"Okay, well, I'll get us seated," he informed his friend, and then went next door. Telling the woman at the podium he wanted a table for two, she led him into the restaurant and seated him. Then she handed him a menu and disappeared.
He'd already decided on two things he wanted when something heavy fell onto the table in front of him and he jumped a mile high. Lowering his menu, blue eyes locked with brown before glancing down. He grit his teeth and looked back up at Kiba angrily, the brunet now examining the menu as if nothing had happened.
"What's this?"
"Merry Christmas, it's another present for you. Except it's not really your style, my bad, feel free to give it away." He flipped the menu over to look at the back.
"Kiba," the blond picked the leather-bound journal up and waved it in the other's face, "this was six-hundred dollars!"
"And I'm rich, what's that amount mean to me?" The brunet finally looked at him, slightly annoyed. "You looked like a kicked puppy when it clicked that you couldn't get it, so just shut up and say thank you." And he was back to looking at the menu.
Naruto growled angrily and snatched his own menu back up, ignoring the brunet in front of him for a long while before sighing and letting it fall down again.
"Thanks," he muttered.
"De rien," the brunet replied automatically. "I think I'm gonna get some miso soup. I like soup."
Snorting softly, Naruto smiled at his friend, even though he was being purposefully ignored, and picked his menu back up after having tucked the book safely away in one of the other bags he had when Kakuzu had suddenly appeared at the table beside them.
"I don't see why you're speeding so much," Naruto insisted, trying his best not to grip the dash since that would've been a pretty pussy move. Though to be fair, Kiba was going almost one-seventy, and the limit was ninety. Every time they hit a particularly slippery part of the road, Naruto prayed quickly and silently to himself, and his prayers were always answered.
Except the one where he asked for Kiba to slow the fuck down!
"Because."
"Dude, you can't leave until Kakuzu and Hidan are there, too, anyway! And they're probably still in the mall parking lot with the way you're driving!"
"Possibly."
He'd agreed. But he didn't slow down. Naruto just sighed and went back to praying, if only because he needed to make it home alive so Sasuke didn't kill him.
Thinking about Sasuke made him tense with worry. At this hour, the other would surely be awake, and what would happen when he saw Kiba's car? He'd know Naruto was out with him again, and he didn't want to lie. But—no, just a few more days. One, or two. Or maybe five. Five was a good number. Multiples of five were always good numbers. It would be the twenty-third of December in five days. That was a good day. He would tell him then.
If the opportunity arose, of course. If not, well, he could wait until the twenty-fourth. He obviously couldn't tell him the twenty-fifth, that was ridiculous, so if things fell through—
"My God, fucknut, you're so transparent."
Naruto turned to look at Kiba, frowning, and somewhat annoyed his perfect planning had been interrupted. "What?"
"Arrête avec les excuses." The brunet shook his head. "I can practically hear your thoughts right now. You're tensing, so you're thinking about your boytoy, and gradually you started getting relaxed, which means you're thinking about when you'll tell him, and finding reasons to procrastinate." Kiba shot him a look, and then returned his gaze to the windshield. (4)
"I dare you to find a scenario as troubling as this one," Naruto glared and then looked out the window again. He was glad they'd been driving for so long, because this wasn't really a conversation he wanted to have right now. He already recognized the scenery, so they weren't too far from his home.
"Well given you haven't told me anything..."
Apparently the atmosphere was enough for Kiba not to want to finish his sentence. He just pulled a cigarette out from the glove box, struck a match against his face, and started inhaling on the cancer stick.
Naruto kept his mouth shut the rest of the way home.
By the time they pulled up into his driveway, he'd calmed down enough that when he climbed out, and Kiba followed after grabbing a bag from the back seat, he didn't freak out at him. He just led the way to the back of the car so he could get his things, and then walked towards the house, calling that he was home. His mother exited the kitchen and smiled warmly, but Naruto distinctly noted she wasn't her usual hyper self. Apparently, hangovers didn't work well for her, either.
"Kiba, hello." She held her arms out and hugged him tightly, then wrinkled her nose. "You're still smoking? I was hoping the smell the other night had been the club."
"Living with my mother is stressful, mom." Kiba grinned and took a step back, then held out the bag he'd taken from Kakuzu before they'd gone their separate ways. "This is for you."
"Oh, sweetie." Kushina touched the brunet's face with one hand, then took the bag, pulling the present out. Naruto cocked an eyebrow, noticing it was the perfume he'd seen the woman wrap. He'd assumed that had been for his own mother, but apparently, he'd been wrong. "I'll go put it under the tree."
"What, nothing for me?" Minato appeared on the stairs, grinning at Kiba. The brunet laughed.
"I couldn't think of anything. Maybe I'll get you some new golf clubs or something."
Laughing as well, the older man waved his hand dismissively, and followed after his wife.
"I should go," Kiba said, turning to Naruto and shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'll hit the docks first, but Kakuzu and Hidan will flip if I'm not there when they arrive."
"Yeah, true. I'll walk you out."
Kiba called farewell to the other's parents, and walked back outside, stopping beside his door. Naruto stood across the car from him, looking at him over the large machinery.
"Sorry today didn't go as smoothly as it should have," Kiba said.
"It's not your fault, it's mine. Thanks for inviting me out, though. Despite everything, it was still fun."
Kiba grinned. "Bien sur! You were with me, fucknut." Pulling open the car door, he climbed in and revved the engine. Naruto bent down and knocked on the passenger-side window, the other rolling it down.
"Thanks. For the book, I mean. Seriously." He hated it when Kiba spent money on him.
"No worries. You'd have done the same thing for me." With a brilliant grin, Kiba lifted one hand in farewell and then hit the gas, shooting backwards out of the driveway and almost taking out the Uchiha's mailbox. Naruto resisted the urge to facepalm.
Then, Kiba was peeling down the street and within seconds, he'd disappeared. Naruto would find it shocking if he made it back to France alive, considering his reckless driving and all the snow and ice on the roads.
Shaking his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets, and started to turn when he noticed movement in one of the windows across the street. Feeling panic rising in his chest, his eyes darted up to Sasuke's window, but it was empty. His gaze shifted to the right and he saw the movement had come from Itachi's room.
The older Uchiha was standing in front of the large window, his hands in his pockets and his eyes locked on Naruto's. The blond felt uneasy and quickly turned on his heel to find shelter in his home, leaning back against the front door once it was closed and exhaling slowly.
He wondered how much Itachi saw. When had he looked out his window? What would he tell Sasuke? Naruto didn't have the brain capacity—or the talent—to lie to him. But then again, what would he lie about? He'd gone out shopping with a friend. He wasn't allowed to go out with a friend?
A knock at the door made him jump a mile high and he turned around, wrenching open the door. He got a deer-in-the-headlights look when his eyes found Sasuke's, and he hoped he didn't look as guilty as he felt.
Why do I feel so guilty?! I hung out with Kiba! It's not a crime!
He felt it was soon going to be.
Though oddly enough, Sasuke didn't look upset. He looked a little annoyed, maybe even kind of embarrassed, but he wasn't upset. Definitely not the same expression as the last time Naruto'd been caught with Kiba.
"Hi..." he said uncertainly, wondering if this was all a cruel joke and the raven was going to kick the crap out of him within the next few seconds.
"Hey. Itachi said he saw you come back." Sasuke shifted his weight, and Naruto could tell he was trying to look and sound casual with his next words. "You have fun?"
"Not really." That was easy, it wasn't a lie. He liked spending time with Kiba, but shopping wasn't by any means fun. "Thought about you a lot. Was gonna text you, but I didn't wanna bug you."
"Hn." Sasuke shrugged. "I went out with my brother. Went shopping."
"Yeah, me too." Naruto grinned. "Not with your brother, though. That'd have been weird."
Sasuke snorted. "Get anything interesting?"
"A few things. I'd tell you, but they're a secret." The blond waggled his eyebrows, and Sasuke snorted again. "Sorry I didn't tell you, I kinda forgot until, well, my alarm went off, to be honest." He laughed.
"You make it sound like I'm controlling." Sasuke glared at him slightly. "You're allowed to go out, you know."
"Oh, thank you, how kind." Naruto snickered and played with the lock on the other side of the door, regarding his boyfriend. "You have a good day?"
"I suppose," the Uchiha replied. "Would've preferred some dumbass in my day."
"Oh, is that so?" This was interesting. "You craving me, now? Can't spend an entire day without a hearty dose?"
The Uchiha glared at him, and that just made Naruto's grin widen. Sasuke needed him as much as he needed the raven. That was a good thing to know, for sure.
"I can't hang out tonight, my family and I are going out for dinner and then to a movie. But I was hoping you could use your sickening gift and get our parents to go out together again."
"My sickening gift?" Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "You mean my irresistible charm?"
"Same thing." Sasuke smirked, causing the blond to pout slightly.
"Fine. I'll work on my maniacal plot. The parents will be out of our hair before midday." Naruto laughed evilly, then slowly let it die down when Sasuke didn't look impressed, though he did look a little amused.
"Good. I'll come by tomorrow when my parents leave." The raven started walking backwards, and Naruto exited the house to follow him slightly.
"Whoa, wait, you're not gonna tell me why you need me to charm our families out of the house?" His already huge grin widened even more, so much so it was hurting his face. "Did you have interestingly dirty thoughts in my absence? Because you know, that'd be hot."
"Don't think you have that much of an affect on me." Sasuke smirked again. "I just got an idea for our roleplaying. This time, we'll stick to it, and then things might get... interesting."
Naruto felt his cock pulse in his pants, and suddenly, his mind was working at warp speed, trying to find ways to get their parents out of the house for the whole day. Hell, it was even throwing in ways for Sasuke to get out of the movie.
That was so unfair, Sasuke teasing him like that! Promising him a good time while simultaneously telling him he had to wait for it! God, when tomorrow came, he was going to be such an asshole to the Uchiha to pay him back for this! It was like Sasuke stripping naked, standing in front of him, and then telling him he wasn't allowed to look! Or touch! Or anything!
"You're a dirty, dirty tease, Uchiha, and you shall pay dearly for that." Naruto glared slightly.
"Bring it on, dumbass." And the bastard was smirking again. "We'll see what you're made of tomorrow."
When he turned to leave, Naruto snorted and grabbed the other's arm, yanking him back around. Sasuke looked momentarily startled, but recovered quickly, smoothing his face over into a mask of indifference, but the blond chuckled as he cradled his face between his hands.
"I saw that." He pressed his forehead against the other's. "I startled you."
"It was the stench." The raven snorted. "You smell like cigarettes."
Naruto's heart gave a double-thump of fear, but he ignored it, and chose not to comment on Sasuke's words. Instead, he just leaned in slowly and pressed his lips against the raven's, then sucked lightly on the other's bottom lip.
The Uchiha responded immediately, parting his lips to grant Naruto access, and he took it without hesitation, his tongue delving inside the other's mouth and massaging his own. The kiss lasted only a few seconds, but they were a few very heated seconds, and when they pulled apart, they were both panting.
"What was that for?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
"It was my hello kiss." Naruto grinned, leaning in to kiss him again once. "This is gonna be my goodbye kiss."
Before he could kiss the raven again, Sasuke pulled away and smirked, walking backwards across the street with his hands in his pockets.
"Giving me a goodbye kiss insinuate I'm going somewhere. Save that kiss as another hello kiss for tomorrow, dumbass."
Before Naruto could think of an appropriate response, the raven had disappeared into his house. The blond pouted, sad he hadn't gotten his second kiss of the day, and finding he was just as addicted to Sasuke's taste as he assumed the other was to his own. After all, Sasuke had plans for the following day, so he had to enjoy Naruto's taste, right?
His cock pulsed in his pants again and Naruto let out a small groan.
God, tonight is going to be the longest night of my life...
Turning around to head back inside, he hoped to God they had some good movies, or else it really was going to be a long fucking night.
The many words of French!Kiba:
First, a note: Putain is the French equivalent to "Fuck" but it also means like "Damn" or "Shit" or like, other lower profanities so saying "putain" isn't the same to French people as saying "fuck" to an English one XD (I have proof, I say putain in front of my mom all the time, but I say fuck and I'm dead |D)
(1) Fuck, what did you tell him?! It's not like I met him so how can that little bastard/asshole tell you he doesn't like me?!
(2) Fuck, you told me you wanted something from London, and I asked! Yes, I asked!
(3) I despise you.
(4) Stop with the excuses.