Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Threadbare

By Cosmogyral

Thread 2:

Although he hated to admit it, it had turned into an obsession. It hadn't started out that way, though. In fact, it began as a vehement avoidance. For days after Naruto's first encounter with the black-eyed man the blonde had kept a sharp lookout so that he wouldn't try to strangle the man's scrawny neck. However, after days with no sign of the ghostly man, Naruto started to get worried. There was a plethora of things that could happen to a homeless person in winter—Naruto didn't have to use his imagination.

Before the worrying could get out of hand, the mysterious man drifted back in to the kitchen one cold afternoon. Naruto once again tried to be genial, and was gifted with another Idiot.

Since then he had been rewarded with a variety of one-worded insults.

How are you? Idiot.

Do you know any other insult but Idiot? Moron.

Loser.

Dumbass.

Dobe. Whatever than meant…

Usually the man came alone, but sometimes a gray-haired man with an eye-patch tried to get the black-eyed man to respond. It made Naruto feel a little better that the older man had just as much success as he.

"Naruto, you're staring at him again."

"Huh?" Was the blonde's intelligent reply. His companion just shook his pony-tailed head.

"So troublesome."

"Why are you so interested in him, Naruto?" Asked the brown-haired Chouji around his sandwich. He had decided to sit with the two during his break. "All he does is insult you."

"But at least that's something," Naruto honestly answered. "He's so unresponsive. Gaara wasn't even that bad when I met him."

After a pause, Naruto turned to the silent Shikamaru. Like usual, he was staring blankly ahead—probably lost in his perpetual daydream.

Suddenly, Shikamaru asked, "Do you read the paper?"

Naruto squinted his eyes at the peculiar question. "No. Why?"

"It might be helpful."

"Shikamaru, you've tried to get Naruto to read the paper before, you know he's not going to start now," Chouji chided. "Not everybody can be as smart as you."

"Hey!"

"Hm, So troublesome."

"By the way, did you hear about the—" Chouji's voice faded from Naruto's attention as his mind wandered. The practically silent man was staring blankly at his empty plate. Now that Naruto thought about it, the man was slightly hunched over the table. He must have been relatively tall. Actually, the only things that Naruto had really observed about the man were his hands and face. Having the time now, Naruto observed from afar. He was fairly tall—probably about six-foot. He had thick, stained layers of jackets covering his upper body. What Naruto had taken for a scraggly scarf he now realized was a faded and worn tie. The man's worn jeans seemed to cover gray colored long underwear and black shoes that had probably once been nice.

"That's a shame," Chouji voice drifted back into Naruto's conscious.

"Huh? What is?" Naruto butted in.

"A car accident. Killed two people," Shikamaru supplied.

"Oh, that is a shame." Looking back into the corner, Naruto was suddenly grabbed by an impulse. Standing up, he turned from Shikamaru and Chouji's puzzled looks and walked over to the black-eyed man's table.

Once he reached in, he looked down at the man's plate. "You know, staring at it won't make food appear." The man looked up and met his blue eyes. He said nothing. Sighing, Naruto grabbed the man's plate and went over to Shino, who was serving with Lee today. "One more, please, Shino."

Food in hand, Naruto strode back and set the plate in front of the man. Sitting down, Naruto watched the man stare at his food. A few seconds ticked by before the man looked up at Naruto. Something stirred in the black depths, then they focused on the food on the plate in front of them.

"What, no insult this time?" Naruto crossed his arms and leaned forward on the table. His only reply was the man taking a big bite out of his sandwich.

Feeling like he had won some small sort of battle, Naruto smirked, then went back to do his kitchen duties.

After the blonde had closed the door to the kitchen behind him, Chouji and Shikamaru decided that it was no use sticking around any longer. As Chouji was buttoning up his jacket, Shikamaru took a small detour.

Walking to the dim corner, the ponytailed man mentioned to no one in particular, "You know, he's an orphan." Dry lips paused—not taking their intended bite of the sandwich. "You might want to give him a chance." That said, Shikamaru trailed out of the glass door like Chouji's shadow.


"Well, I think you should just ask the bastard out," the blonde woman across from him stated.

"W-WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Ino! How can you say that?"

"Well excuse me for reading the sexual tension in the situation," the girl replied.

"More like trying to see one of your gay fantasies come to life!" Naruto fired back.

"Hey!" she shouted, "Can you blame me? From the way you describe him, this guy sounds dead sexy—in that tall, dark, and brooding way. Mix in some impenetrable mysterious aura and you've got the recipe for any straight girl or gay man's sex god." Jumping from her perch on the side of the stage, Ino sashayed over to the empty front row seats and sat down facing her comrade. Her ponytail moved with her like dancing corn silk.

Naruto stayed in his spot on stage and contemplated his fellow thespian's words.

"I don't know. I mean," for a moment Naruto floundered for words, "He's so…blank. It's hard to imagine him as a fully functioning person let alone a sex god."

Shrugging her shoulders, Ino reached for her tote bag and stood from her seat. "Whatever, I just call 'em as I see 'em."

"Yeah, thanks, Ino."

"Anytime." Twirling around, the actress started to make her way to the auditorium's entrance. "Good practice, by the way. And tell forehead girl I say 'hi.'"

"Will do. Later, Ino."

"Later." Watching her strut out the door, Naruto only smiled and moved over to side stage. Picking up the coffee machine they technically weren't supposed to have there, Naruto drained the last of the pot into a paper thermos cup. Turning off the stage lights, the actor exited the small theatre and slowly trudged to the bus stop.

Knowing the way by heart, Naruto let his mind adventure into more challenging territory.

Lately the black-eyed man (dubbed 'the bastard' by friends and coworkers) had actually been tolerable. Not that he had spoken anymore than usual, but instead of insults it was more of a chorus of hums and grunts. It had taken him long enough. What had it been? A month of random, one-sided conversations at the kitchen?

Naruto followed this train of thought for the duration of the bus ride. He sat in the back of the bumpy bus, letting himself contemplate in solitude. What had changed the stoic man's attitude?

Finally getting off of the city bus, Naruto made his way to his dinky townhouse—a last gift from his deceased guardians and his only possession of any real value. Pulling his orange jacket closer, Naruto was glad to have the cup of coffee, if only to warm his hands.

He was about a block away from his house when Naruto noticed a familiar worn jacket huddled in an alleyway. Stopping, Naruto stared at the deathly still form. The sight made his breath catch. You never knew if those forms were really dead or just trying to preserve warmth. Before he knew it, Naruto's feet were leading him to the crumpled up figure.

As the man heard Naruto's approaching footsteps, twin black eyes glared up—two puddles of dark oil. Naruto was surprised. There was some strength behind that glare. There was fear, anger, and an overwhelming defiance. It made the blonde halt in his tracks.

However, once the man realized who he was glaring at, the gaze returned to apathetic. Lying back down, the man pulled more newspaper around his layers of clothing.

For once, Naruto didn't know what to ask or what to do. Mingling in the Soup Kitchen was one thing, but seeing the same people actually shivering on the streets was another.

A few awkward moments later, the blue-eyed youth broke out of his trance and moved closer to the focus of his thoughts. The man didn't move and Naruto didn't try to gain his attention. Setting down the still hot cup up coffee, Naruto murmured a Good night, before completing the walk to his house.

He only turned back once in that short distance. The black-eyed man's position had shifted, and the coffee cup had disappeared.

The next day Naruto listened to the two most beautiful words he had even heard.

"Thank you."


A/N: I figured I would post this section a little early since I'll be gone for a bit (not too long, though). This thread is a little shorter than the others, but it would have been odd to cut it off anywhere else. I know it's short, but hopefully you liked it anyway!

Thank you to all who reviews/favorited/alterted my story in the first chapter! You are all amazing! It means a lot, especially to a new FanFiction writer. I would love it if you kept the reviews coming. Even if it is only one word (even one letter), I would be so thankful!

So, I'm signing out for now. Have a great day, a great weekend, and a great 4th of July for my readers in the US!

Adios!