You know what, I am now determined to get one of these chapters up without apologizing for taking so damn long. I'm WAY too slow at updating. So, sorry for taking so long, I hope you still want to read after a month. I'm no longer going to be making promises of not taking very long since I obviously break them without really meaning to. It just happens, I'm slow, I'm lazy and I'm busy... so... yeah... without further delay, I give you chapter 6.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Concrete Angel.
Chapter Six:
Wow! Was all Naruto could think upon seeing Sasuke's house. It was gorgeous, large, well unkempt. The colors fit perfectly, dark mahogany brown with a light beige trim and a bronze door. The paint wasn't chipping either which gave it the feel of a new house. Even the grass was a fresh green and trim with none of that access dead grass.
"It's just a house," Sasuke said, somewhat humored at Naruto's facial expression.
"Uh... yeah." Coming to his senses, Naruto again felt like a moron... a wet moron at that. Absentmindedly Naruto tugged at his soaked clothing which was sticking to his body.
Opening the door, Sasuke glanced back to see this act, "You should have a shower," He suggested.
Naruto stopped in his tracks... a shower? At Sasuke Uchiha's? No way... "Um... I don't know..."
"Look, I'm not going to let my friend freeze, it'd be better if you showered."
Sighing, the blond just nodded. But honestly... a shower sounded like heaven...
Following Sasuke into his home, Naruto was in a whole new world of wonderment. The outside made the house appear plain in comparison to the inside. The elegantly painted walls, the hardwood floor with the artistic rugs placed in the appropriate areas, the adornments along the walls... it was all so glamorous... making Naruto, who was used to a damp, dark cement basement with peeling paint, feel like he was in a palace. "You actually live here?"
"My whole life... my parent's had good taste and they used to travel a lot, so they have many ornaments from all over the world." Sasuke said simply, as though it was all nothing out of the ordinary.
"I've never seen stuff like this," the blond mumbled, admiring the strange object hung along the walls. Seeing Sasuke, who merely shrugged, take his shoes off and place them in the open closet, Naruto did the same.
"The bathroom is upstairs to your right. I'll come up with a change of clothes in bit. Oh and towels and face clothes are in the cabinet next to the sink." Sasuke instructed.
The blond nodded and softly said "Thanks," before obeying him and disappearing up the stairs.
Naruto sighed loudly as the hot water streaming from the shower-head caressed his cold body. He had only experienced very few showers, they were high risk of waking an angry Emi so he could only have them when her drinking knocked her out hard. He spent quite a few minutes just basking in the feeling of the water massaging his skin before reaching for a bar of soap and lathering the face cloth he was given. The soap smelt heavenly, just as he'd expected. Naruto almost giggled at the thought of smelling like Sasuke. But that thought brought something far more intimate to mind and he shook his head to rid himself of such nonsense. He could not have that running through his mind while he was in Sasuke's house, it just wouldn't bode well.
Downstairs, Sasuke listened to the pleasant sound of the shower. If someone had told him Naruto Uzumaki was going to be in his house using his shower, Sasuke would have scoffed at them. But the blond was here, in his shower. He blinked away inappropriate images that came to mind and made his way around the kitchen. If he cooked something now, there would be no way Naruto could reject his invitation to supper. But what would Naruto like? They'd talked about food, but he'd never said anything he liked. Of course his terrible aunt probably never fed him proper food, hoping to starve him to death... He scowled at the thought of that bitch but tried to free himself of negative thought so he could focus on cooking. Sure he was already skilled at it from being alone for so long, but he wanted to really impress Naruto. So he'd make one of his specialties... Scallop Kakiage. However, as he looked into his fridge, he realized that he had used the last of his scallops last week and forgot to pick up groceries. So he'd have to make due with something else, and seizing the leftover tempura batter he decided upon Tempura Soba instead. Quickly he busied himself, only accompanied by the noise he himself made and the faint drizzling of the shower.
While Sasuke waited for the tempera, Sasuke headed up the stairs. Still hearing the shower running, he figured Naruto wasn't finished and therefore decided to collect a change of clothes for him so he didn't have to go trotting around in a wet towel.
Naruto's build was slightly smaller than his own, for various reason which Sasuke tried to ignore for the moment, so he rummaged through his drawers to find some of his smaller sized clothing. A small T-shirt, pants and clean boxers (ones he never wore since they were a gift from one of his fan girls; the light blue with dark blue hearts wasn't exactly his style) should be fine. So with the clothing piled neatly he moved from his bedroom and approached the bathroom across the hall. The raven opened the door after knocking and was greeted with the sight of a half naked blond wearing only a towel around his waist.
Naruto's blue eyes widened with a start and his mouth opened to scream but he refused to vocalize it.
Turning red Sasuke averted his eyes as quickly as he could, although taking his eyes off of Naruto's tortured yet gorgeous body was rather difficult, and closed the door almost all the way to block his view.
"Uh... sorry... um... here's the uh clothes," Sasuke managed to spit out as he held the folded clothes through the small opening of the door.
Hesitantly the blond took them, but he did so from afar, stretching his arm to its full length in order to take them. Once they had transferred from the raven's hand to the blond's, Sasuke closed the door completely and muttered a faint "I'll be downstairs," before hastily walking away from the door.
On the other side, after he got over his shock, Naruto cursed and stared down at his battered body. Scars and bruises were plainly visible, so it was impossible for Sasuke to have not noticed them. Perhaps it was time to tell him... it was obvious he could trust him... after what he'd said and done...
Downstairs, Sasuke paced around the kitchen, his hand covering his somewhat flushed face. How stupid he had been... assuming that Naruto would still be in the shower. It was rude for him to just walk in on a guest. Though he had knocked... and people standing right there in the open would normally be able to hear it. Naruto however must not have... considering how shocked the boy had been and probably still was. "He must think I'm a pervert now..." the Uchiha muttered to himself, still moving about the room. "...inviting him to my house to have a shower then just walking in on him... He'll never trust me again..." His pace stopped abruptly as the timer went off. Sasuke growled at the noise, thinking of taking his frustration out on the small mechanical device but thought against it. Resolving to continue with his original plan.
Finally working up the courage, Naruto got dressed in Sasuke's clothing, neatly piled his own dirty ones and made his way cautiously down the stairs. He found Sasuke sitting at the kitchen counter with his elbows propped up and his forehead resting on his latched hands. The raven appeared deep in thought for his eyes were closed. Was he attempting to properly word his confrontation about Naruto's injuries? Sure he'd known that his only friend noticed the more visible ones a while back. But now that he'd seen the just of them, how could he keep from questioning?
Sasuke looked up when he heard Naruto's footsteps and watched him thoughtfully. Avoiding his piercing gaze, the blond shifted where he stood and took a long gulp, preparing for the impact of question. However, when the raven didn't speak, Naruto broke the awkward silence with his awkward shaky voice.
"Um... thanks again for the shower... if I um... could get a bag for my clothes I'll just um... be going..."
Sasuke's brow furrowed at this. "Naruto, you don't have to leave. I never meant to-"
Shaking his head, the blond cut him off. "No, it's better if I go now."
"But I already made you supper." He gestured to the plate across from his own.
As Naruto followed his hand, his eyes grew wide at the sight of food. Actual food. Beautiful food. Now that Naruto was distracted from his confusion and nervousness, he could finally smell the heavenly scent emanating from the food he had not noticed until now. It was intoxicating and caused Naruto's eyes to droop and subconsciously take a step forwards toward the counter.
Sasuke half smiled at the humor of the blond's expression but also frowned at thinking about how horrible his aunt treated him for his response to food to be like this.
"Naruto," Sasuke stood up, "Why don't you sit here and eat while I throw your clothes in the washer?"
Naruto's brow furrowed, as though he was faced with the question of life. Regardless, his eyes remained fixed on the enticing plate of tempera. While the blond was still in his trance, Sasuke led him to the stool at the counter and took the folded clothing from his hands. Naruto's head shot up to look at the raven when his pale hands brushed over his own naturally darker ones in the process of taking the clothes. It was the first time Naruto had even glanced in Sasuke's direction since he came downstairs, and it may very well have been the first time they've truly gazed into each other's eyes.
The bright, intense blue eyes filled with sadness, confusion and shock did something to Sasuke causing his heart to skip a beat and move a step closer. Naruto was drawn in by the dark, cold yet inviting orbs holding his gaze, forbidding him to look or move away. Suddenly his breath was forced from his lungs when Sasuke's body seemed to be nearer to his own. It was as though their eyes connected their worlds, their pasts, their futures, and they could see each other in a whole new light.
Drinking in each other's silhouettes seemed to drag on for hours, hours of nothingness filled with everything; but in reality it was no more than a minute. Instinctively Sasuke moved even closer, raising his hand to possibly cup Naruto's scarred but beautiful cheek. Although just as the raven's hand reached shoulder level, Naruto's stomach growled loudly, causing the enchanting mood to disintegrate and motivating a faint, rosy blush to spread across the blond's cheeks.
Sasuke stifled a chuckle at this as he let his hand fall back lay upon the clothing resting in his opposite hand. Even though he was rather disappointed with the turn of events, the reason for the change of atmosphere was particularly amusing... not to mention Naruto was adorable when he blushed.
"I... uh..." The Uzumaki stuttered.
The raven couldn't help but smile. "You sit and eat. I'll chuck these in the washer and be back to join you."
Hesitantly, Naruto nodded and sat himself on the stool. Once he picked up his fork, Sasuke, apparently satisfied, walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway. The blond sighed and began to play with the food. Unsure of how he should eat it, if he was even going to. Would Emi be able to tell that he ate a real meal? If so, would she beat him for it? Or force him to throw up the only authentic food he'd ever tasted? The blond swallowed the last bit of fear and worry as he scooped up some noodles with his fork and raised it to his mouth. He breathed in the scent before taking his first bite, confirming that it was real and possibly subconsciously making sure it wasn't poisoned or something. The taste was even better than the smell and Naruto savored that first bite as though it was the only food left on earth.
Sasuke turned the knob to regular 12 and pulled to get the water of the washer that was set to small load with cold water, going. He poured the right amount of soap into fast running water and tossed the clothes in after them. Closing the lid he leaned his back against the machine and sighed audibly. After seeing how unnerved Naruto was, there was no possible way to bring up the abuse now... He'd just have to give him more time.
Sorry to disappoint y'all but... no smexing in this chapter ;P but hey... Naruto is still in the house... hehe, though I'm not going to give anything away, I just enjoy teasing .