Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Threadbare
By Cosmogyral
Thread 8:
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Naruto lied atop his kitchen table and watched the lazy blades of his ceiling fan circulate.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Reaching up, he slowly massaged the surface of the cold metal around his neck with one hand, and wilted red petals in the other. It was amazing that the dying flower had any petals left. Distantly, Naruto heard the phone ring. Naruto let it ring. He didn't want to talk.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
The air and rhythm from the fan blew back his hair from his forehead and erased all sense of time. As he rubbed a hole in each velvety petal he counted the heart-shaped petals as they dropped. He loved me. He loved me not.
Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
Naruto heard the lock to his front door jiggle. Opening his eyes, the blonde noticed that the room had become darker in the time that had passed. Now he heard the scraping of the door as it opened and closed. Heavy footsteps came towards the kitchen.
Turning his head, Naruto looked to see who disturbed his spacing-out. Iruka stood there, arms crossed and a stern look across his features.
Striding over next to the kitchen table, Iruka loomed over the younger man.
"Why didn't you answer your phone?"
Shrugging, Naruto let his focus fade out. "Didn't feel like it." A heavy silence fell between them.
Iruka pulled out a chair and sat next to the actor. "You don't seem to feel like doing much these past few days."
When the comment didn't elicit a response from Naruto, Iruka got up and moved his way around the kitchen. Slowly he picked up what Naruto had left to gather for days. Turning on the sink, the tan man gently cleaned the scarce dishes littering the countertop.
As his older-brother-like figure made his way through the kitchen, Naruto's blue eyes followed him. If he squinted his eyes, Iruka looked taller, paler, and had midnight hair. Stopping his petal plucking, Naruto stared at Iruka's back muscles as they moved. Eyes watering, Naruto closed his swollen lids.
"Iruka…" The back muscles stopped, and Iruka's scared face looked over his shoulder. "Why?"
Snorting, Iruka turned back to his cleaning. "Because I've known you too long, and know that if I leave you to your own ministrations, you will be living in a pig sty." The water ran for a few more seconds, and Naruto could still hear stead scrubbing.
"No, I mean…" Naruto voice wavered. "Why?"
The scrubbing and the clanking of dishware continued. Iruka didn't stop, and didn't look back. "You know, we used to play this game a lot when we were younger. We would keep asking Jiraiya and Tsunade 'why' and they would keep us amused." Stopping briefly, Iruka let out a chuckle. "Or kick our asses if they weren't in the mood."
After a few minutes, the pony-tailed man turned off the sink and turned around. "But they aren't around anymore, are they?" Sitting down, Iruka's brown eyes were eye-level with Naruto's turned head. The man leaned forward so that his forearms rested on the edge of the table. Taking a deep breath, the soup-kitchen owner said what Naruto didn't want to hear.
"Because he loved you."
"Then why?" Blue leaked out of big eyes.
"Because he was hurting."
"Why?" each question turned into more of a rasp.
"Because he couldn't trust himself. He didn't like who he was."
"Why?"
"…I don't know." Grabbing the blonde's hand, Iruka squeeze and tried not to cry along with the hurting man. "But he loved you, Naruto," more tears ran down the whisker-scarred cheeks. "He cared for you, and wanted you to be happy. He wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Then he should have stayed, Iruka!" harshly yelled the emotional actor.
"He didn't think that was an option."
"I hate him! God, I hate him!" Ripping the necklace from his neck, Naruto hurled it as hard as he could. He heard it hit the refrigerator and clatter to the ground.
"No you don't," calmly replied the older man. "You're too good for that."
Naruto sucked in deep breaths and looked up at the ceiling fan. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.
"What am I supposed to do?"
Picking up a small card on the corner of the table, Iruka placed the card in Naruto's hand. "You should go see Itachi Uchiha."
"Why?"
"Who knows," honestly answered Iruka. "Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Even though Sasuke let you go, that doesn't mean that the world won't appreciate Naruto Uzumaki. The number-one obnoxious, unpredictable ninja." The old phrase of Jiraiya's earned a smile from the blonde.
"Yeah, number-one…"
Chuckling, Iruka continued, "Huh, and I hear that Uchiha is pretty sexy."
"But he's married."
"He has a younger brother." After a moment, both men let out choked laugher.
"Iruka, you're sick."
"I know." Still clasping the younger man's hand, Iruka pulled the blonde into a sitting position. "So, what do you say?"
"I guess I'll go." Iruka beamed. "You know, since he has a sexy brother and all."
Both men stood and pulled each other into firm hugs. Then, without words, they each started meandering around the cluttered kitchen. Without words, the two men were comforted by the other's company.
Hours passed and Naruto was thankful for every minute he had with Iruka. Sulking in his misery, Naruto had forgotten how much he hated being alone.
Once the tanned man had left and the house sparkled, Naruto returned to the kitchen. Scanning the room, he spotted something they had missed in front of the refrigerator. Picking it up, Naruto almost crumbled all over again. His necklace lied on top of the fallen snapshot of Sasuke and him. Picking them both up, Naruto went to bed.
A/N: Arg! Sorry for being late in updating. FanFiction was being stupid and not letting me login. Then the next day, I wouldn't let me upload my chapters correctly... It sucked... But now I can! Yay! On another note: Wahhh! I know I say this every time, but you all were especially amazing last week. Thank you SO much for your spectacular reviews! I am a very happy writer!!! I feel a little sad that I'm updating a little late, and with such a short chapter in response. However, consider it the calm before the storm. The next chapter will be much larger. ^_^ Well, even though it is short, I hope that the chapter was enjoyable. I really wanted to show how much Naruto was affected while also putting a transition between the chapters. Anyways, I hope to hear from you all! Adios!
Cosmogyral
