Summary:
Naruto had been a good boy all through high school, and what had it gotten him? Rejected by his best friend for a series of one-night-stands. (OOC: darker Naruto, sexual Sasuke) SasuNaru - College AU
Warning 17+ only: Yaoi (Boy x Boy) -Not appropriate for young readers.
Author's note: Sorry this took so long. I was updating Deception, and am also helping my 9-year-old niece training for her black belt (hooray! she is so awesome... we joke about how Itachi was doing Anbu missions by the time he was 11 so she has to up her game LOL... we are such a family of nerds).
-xXx-
Sasuke smirked, "I promised Shikamaru I'd feed you breakfast."
Naruto's blush returned full force. "Fucking hell. Does everyone know we had sex last night?"
Sasuke pulled Naruto's face to his, thrusting his tongue unapologetically into the blond's mouth. Given that Sasuke was still naked, Naruto could clearly feel the reaction the kiss had on his friend's body, and felt an answering hardness in his own. After a few seconds, Sasuke pulled back slightly.
"Are you uncomfortable with everyone knowing?" Sasuke asked, his voice serious.
"No... I mean, all my friends know I'm bi. At this point, pretty much the whole world knows. I'm just feeling... a little over-exposed in terms of my sex life lately, I guess," Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "That stupid video. Shikamaru said you didn't know, but seriously... you must have been on the set. Didn't you see the fucking cameras?"
Naruto pushed away, walking over to the bed. "Oh, so now all of a sudden you're going to give a shit about me? You blew me off for two years. Don't think you can come in now and lecture me on anything."
"What, last night was me not giving a shit and ignoring you?" Sasuke said sounding annoyed but seemingly unconcerned about his nudity.
"Last night was sex. And we were drunk," Naruto said defensively, and immediately regretted his words when he saw how Sasuke's face closed up.
"So are you saying you regret it? Are you going to try to tell me it was all just sex now? Or that it wouldn't have happened if we were sober?" Sasuke said, his voice hard.
"No... neither, it... wasn't like that. It did surprise me, but I don't regret it," Naruto paused, and took a breath, looking nervous and uncertain. "Do you?"
"No. Like I said, Naruto. I came here for you."
"What does that even mean, Sasuke? You basically didn't talk to me for two years. You were fucking everyone BUT me in college. Now you show up out of the blue and seem like... like you like me or something."
Sasuke kept his gaze locked on Naruto's and stalked over to stand just in front of him. "I think that if there is one thing that last night should have made clear, it's that I like you. And you like me." Sasuke's voice dropped a bit, and he slid the back of his index finger over the hard ridge in Naruto's jeans.
Naruto sucked in a breath. "How are we supposed to have any kind of conversation with you naked? I can't keep any blood in my brain," Naruto closed his eyes, and snaked a hand around Sasuke's back, pulling their bodies flush. He took a deep breath, drawing in the heady scent of Sasuke and remnants of last night's activities.
"I don't understand how this is all happening after all this time," Naruto said, unable to stop himself from kissing at the base of Sasuke's neck, feeling the response in both their bodies at the touch. "You never..."
There was a knock on the door. "Room service," a muffled voice said.
They both jumped apart.
"Just a minute!" Naruto called out to the room attendant, his eyes looking a bit wild, like he'd just gotten caught at something he wasn't supposed to be doing.
Sasuke calmly reached into his suitcase and pulled out a neatly folded black T-shirt. Rather than simply handing it to Naruto, he walked over and pulled it over the blond's head.
"Hey, Bastard! I know how to put my own shirt on," Naruto huffed
"Hn," Sasuke said, a small smirk on his face. "It looks good on you, Dobe. Get the door while I go rinse off."
Sasuke walked to the bathroom. Naruto's eyes followed his movements before he forced himself to move and open the door and open the door for room service. A small table was wheeled in, with an assortment of fruit, bacon, eggs, toast, and cereal. Naruto chuckled. Sasuke must have just ordered up the entire menu. A pang of almost homesickness went through him as he remembered back to all the times when Sasuke and Itachi and he would be in their kitchen back in Konoha making breakfast together before school. It was the closest Naruto had ever felt to being part of an actual family. And he had ached at its absence over the past two years.
As the room attendant left, Naruto heard the shower turn on. Looking at his watch, he realized he had to leave in less than ten minutes, or he'd be late for his meeting with the record company to get his paycheck. "Sasuke! I'm going to eat some of this, ok?" he shouted through the door.
"That's what I ordered it for, Dobe," came the muffled reply.
"And you're totally a coward for hiding in the shower when you didn't answer my question. You'd better call me when you're done looking for an apartment today."
"Leave me a phone number that I can actually reach you at and I will."
Naruto rolled his eyes, then wrote out his cell number on the pad of paper on the hotel desk. He remembered how long Sasuke always took in the shower, so he knew not to bother waiting. He shoveled some of the food in, glad he never suffered ill effects from drinking. "Ok, I'm leaving. You better call me, asshole."
"I always call you an asshole," Sasuke said from the shower.
"Prick," Naruto muttered, grabbing his phone, making sure the ringer was turned on, then heading out the door.
He had just walked out the front door of the hotel when a black Stingray pulled up. The window rolled down, but Naruto didn't need to look inside to see who was driving.
"Get in. If you walk you'll be late," Yahiko said, his face expressionless.
"I told you I'd take a cab."
"Don't be stupid. I'm here. Just get in the fucking car."
Naruto sighed. People were staring, and a few had recognized Yahiko. This was going to escalate into a scene if Naruto didn't get in, so he jerked open the door and sat down. "How did you even know I was here?"
"Sai told me. He said he saw you at a club last night, and you left with some black-haired guy. Anyone I know?"
Naruto just looked out the window in silence. He thought he'd felt someone watching him at the club. He really needed to have a talk with Sai. But for now, he was focusing on ignoring Yahiko. Which was no small feat since the man had a presence that could fill a stadium. Literally.
"Oh, that's mature," Yahiko said, his voice slightly taunting.
"Yeah, so is using a sex tape without permission as a publicity stunt," Naruto snapped back.
"I had your permission. You signed the form."
"You know that's bullshit, Yahiko. If you're going to be an ass, at least own it."
Yahiko glanced over at Naruto, then sighed.
"Look. I'm sorry, ok? The song was about you, and when you were watching me singing... things just got carried away. I had told Sai to video everything that happened that night, but I hadn't though we'd end up... like that. I thought it would be more you just watching me. But then I saw the footage, and it was fucking amazing. You were amazing. And the video just looked great, and I knew it would be a big hit. I didn't know that you and Nagato would be so pissed off about it."
Naruto almost choked in disbelief. "You're kidding right? If you actually expect me to believe that you 'forgot' that Sai had set up cameras everywhere, then you've got a pretty low opinion of me. I'm not that naive. And the whole reason you didn't ask me directly about the video before it was released is because you knew I wouldn't agree. So don't pretend to be all surprised that it pissed me off. You used me. I'm not mad about what happened between the two of us, because we both wanted it. But the video was out of line." Naruto huffed out a breath, but then continued. "Even so, though, I'm sorry about things being bad between you and Nagato. I'll talk to him. You guys go back a long way, and it would be a shame to lose that kind of friendship over something like this."
Yahiko was silent a bit as they drove down the street. "I wasn't using you, you know. I really am attracted to you. More than just physically."
Naruto laughed. "Oh, yeah. I could totally tell by the way you called me after it all, and the way you asked my permission to use the footage of us together," Naruto's voice dripped with sarcasm.
They pulled into the parking lot of the studio. "Look, Naruto," Yahiko said, turning off the engine and turning to face him. "I'm sorry. I'm so used to being around people who would do anything to be in a video, or to get with the band, that it didn't even occur to me that you wouldn't be that way. And Nagato told me he'd kill me if I called you or touched you again when he found out what happened. So I didn't call. Like you said, he and I go way back." Yahiko's voice softened at his last words.
Naruto just looked at him, he could see the hurt and sadness in Yahiko's eyes at his mention of his rift with Nagato. Naruto was reminded of how he had felt about losing Sasuke. Nagato and Yahiko had the same sort of bond. He opened the door and got out of the car. "I'll talk to Nagato. But we're done. I'm flattered that you said that you liked me more than just casually, but we both know that's a crock." Naruto walked to the entrance of the building, and Yahiko followed.
When the reached the elevator, Naruto could see the reflection in the shiny steel door of Yahiko looking at his back and glaring. "What?" Naruto said as he turned around.
"Looks like your new boyfriend is a little possessive. Did you tell him you were meeting with me?"
"Of course. Why would I lie? This is just business," Naruto said, turning back to the elevator door as it opened, assuming Yahiko had seen one of the many hickeys that Sasuke had marked him with the night before.
Yahiko shoved him inside and pressed him up against the wall of the elevator. "Just business?"
Yahiko didn't actually press their bodies together, but Naruto could feel the heat between them. Yahiko had his hands braced on either side of Naruto's head, their eyes locked together.
"Just business, Yahiko. If you'd wanted anything more, you should have played it differently," Naruto said, glad when he succeeded in keeping his voice steady. He couldn't deny that he found Yahiko attractive. But he had no intention of ever acting on those feelings again. Even if Sasuke weren't back in his life, there was no future with someone like Yahiko. At least, not romantically.
Some of his resolve must have shown in his eyes, because Yahiko stepped back. The door of the elevator opened and they stepped out.
Naruto was surprised to see Nagato there along with the person from the record company.
"Nagato," Naruto said, breaking into a smile and trying to distract the older man's glare that was directed at Yahiko. "It's good to see you. What are you doing here?"
"I found out that Yahiko requested that they hold your check so that he could deliver it to you personally instead of just mailing it. So I wanted to swing by and make sure that he didn't pressure you into... anything," Nagato's glare shifted back to Yahiko.
"I didn't pressure him into anything before, Nagato," Yahiko said calmly. Nagato stepped forward. Naruto came between them, putting his hand on Nagato's chest.
"He's right, Nagato. It's fine. I was stupid, but he didn't push me into anything. It was a one-time thing, and it's done. Don't let this destroy your friendship. It's totally not worth that," Naruto said, feeling incredibly guilty that a moment of stupidity on his part was tearing these two life-long friends apart.
Nagato looked at Naruto. "But the video..."
"Is embarrassing, but doesn't really matter. It's not like I have family somewhere that's going to be upset about it. And it will be totally forgotten soon enough. Just... don't worry about it. I'm pissed at Yahiko about it, but that's between him and me. I'm really ok."
Nagato looked at Yahiko for a moment, then turned to the woman from the record company. "Give Naruto his check. He doesn't need to stay for conversation if he doesn't want to."
The woman nodded, clearly uncomfortable with the level of tension in the room between the two older men. "Here you go, kid. This is just the beginning... the real money will come after the first two months of sales have come through. Royalties will be paid quarterly after that."
Naruto just took the envelope without opening it and nodded, looking nervously between Yahiko and Nagato.
"I'll drive you home," Nagato said flatly.
"Don't you even want to hear her offer about songs for the next album?" Yahiko said, asking Naruto but still looking at Nagato.
"Not right now, Yahiko," Naruto said, trying to quickly diffuse the situation. "School's going to start next week, and I need to move into the dorms this weekend. I'll think about it, and let you know. But right now, I just want to get home. I owe my roommates rent for the past month, and I want to let them know that I'll be able to pay them back."
Nagato shot another glare at Yahiko, who simply sighed.
Naruto and Nagato stepped into the elevator. "Thanks," Naruto said softly. "I appreciate that you are looking out for me. But really... it's ok. The thing between Yahiko and me was just stupid. It shouldn't ruin your friendship."
"He shouldn't have done it."
"No. He shouldn't. And neither should I. I might be younger, but I'm still an adult. Don't hate him for this, Nagato. I don't want to carry the guilt of ruining your friendship over something so stupid. The brief thing with Yahiko, whatever it was, is over and it won't happen again."
"Yahiko can be very persuasive," Nagato said, a trace of bitterness in his voice.
Naruto laughed. "I know, believe me. But it takes two to tango. And I can honestly say that I am not interested anymore. And whatever you can say about Yahiko, he would never force himself on someone. If I'm not interested, then he will back off. It's not like he doesn't have a million other takers. You know him well enough for that."
Nagato smiled slightly. "That's true. For his pride alone, Yahiko would never push anyone into something they didn't want to do with him."
"Then please just let it go, Nagato. You've been mad at him long enough. He misses you."
Nagato just looked at Naruto, then smiled. "You're so much like him, you know."
Naruto looked blankly at Nagato. "Like Yahiko?"
Nagato seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts. "No. Someone else. From a long time ago."
Nagato turned to face the elevator doors, clearly shutting off the conversation, leaving Naruto wondering what he had been referring to, and somehow knowing it was important.
-xXx-
Nagato had asked Naruto to come over and hang out with Deidara, Zetsu, and Hidan, but Naruto had been too focused on his upcoming 'talk' with Sasuke, so he had asked Nagato to just drop him off at his apartment, which Nagato had done.
But after several hours of pacing around, checking his cell phone every few minutes, Naruto was beginning to wish he had taken Nagato up on his offer. How many apartments in walking distance of campus could there really be? And how long did it take to just pick one and get it over with? He tried passing the time by packing up his stuff, but he didn't have that much of it and in an hour it was all packed into three boxes. He looked out the kitchen window and saw Shikamaru lying on his back in the grass in the lawn behind the house.
He walked out and lay down next to the brunette, wincing slightly at the soreness in his backside.
Shikamaru had watched him approach silently, but now said, "So I take it Sasuke found you last night."
Naruto turned to stare at his friend. "Why would you think that?"
Shikamaru chuckled. "Well, you clearly are having a little trouble sitting. And of course, there is the T-shirt. After the video came out, I figured it was only a matter of time."
"Ummm... ok, why would you assume that Sasuke would come looking for me after the video came out?"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Because he's been wanting to bang you since you were about fourteen. I was really surprised he managed to hold out this long."
"What? What are you talking about. Sasuke was straight in high school..." Naruto trailed off, realizing that statement had clearly been disproven last night. Quite vigorously.
Shikamaru clearly didn't feel that the sheer stupidity of the comment even deserved a response.
Naruto tried again. "I mean, he's not straight now, I guess, but when he was dating Sakura -"
"Probably to get you to see she was not everything you made her out to be."
"But he was kissing her -"
"Because after you kissed him you started avoiding him and he probably thought you were freaked out about anything to do with gay."
Naruto paused at that. He had told Shikamaru about the kiss when he had asked what had really happened between Sasuke and Naruto. When Sakura had called, Naruto had clearly been uninterested, and evidently Shikamaru had realized that the old theory about why Naruto and Sasuke had stopped being friends wasn't correct.
Naruto gaped. "You have to be fucking kidding me."
"Well, it's pretty clear neither of you actually liked her, but what did he say about it this morning?"
Naruto shifted uncomfortably. "Well, I kind of had this meeting with Yahiko this morning, and -"
"Oh, god. Don't tell me that you left before he woke up."
"No! Of course not! But we didn't have a lot of time to talk things through, and Itachi called, and then we talked a little but... I gave him my number and told him to call me when he was done apartment hunting," Naruto said, feeling a little defensive.
Shikamaru stood up. "I can't take this right now. You have been pining for each other for years, and you still just... I feel my IQ is in danger of dropping by proxy. Come see me again AFTER you and Sasuke actually talk things out."
Something that Shikamaru said earlier came back to Naruto.
"Hey, how did you know this shirt was Sasuke's? I have tons of black T-shirts."
"Yeah, but none with the Uchiha family symbol on the back."
"What the fuck?!" Naruto twisted around, pulling the shirt so he could see the back. Sure enough. There was a huge, red and white lollipop-looking-fan-thing. Naruto glowered. No wonder Sasuke hadn't just handed him the shirt. Naruto would have seen it and never worn it. So Sasuke had just jammed it on his head instead.
"He just wanted to be sure Yahiko knew who's property you were now," Shikamaru said, smirking a bit at how disgruntled Naruto looked about the whole thing.
"I'm no one's fucking property! Besides, if he cared that much then why doesn't he fucking call me?"
Shikamaru sighed. "I don't know, Naruto. Maybe it took longer than expected. Maybe his cell is out of batteries. Maybe he couldn't read your chicken-scratch handwriting."
"Maybe you blocked my fucking number," a cold voice said from behind them.
Naruto snapped his head around. "Teme! Where the hell have you been? Why didn't you call me! It can't have taken this long to look for a stupid apartment."
Shikamaru stood, dusting the grass off his ass. "I have... other things to do. Later." He walked past Sasuke with a mock salute to the both of them.
Naruto and Sasuke nodded vaguely to the brunette, still eyeing each other with a mixture of hostility and vulnerability.
Sasuke threw his phone at Naruto, who luckily had fast enough reflexes to catch it before the $500 device smashed to the ground. "Go ahead. Call your number from my phone." Sasuke's tone was seething.
Naruto looked at Sasuke a minute, then punched in his number. His phone didn't ring. He listened to the message from Sasuke's phone, and his eyes widened.
"But... but I never blocked your number. Why would I have blocked it? It's not like you ever tried to call me. Even when I got fucking arrested you didn't even try to call me," Naruto could feel his old hurt and anger pumping back up.
"Oh? How would you know. You blocked my fucking number. I tried to call you the next day. And repeatedly after that. But I couldn't get through, could I?" Sasuke said, cold anger oozing from every word.
"How could you have called me? You didn't even have my number," Naruto said, feeling like he had caught Sasuke in a lie, which pissed him off. But at the same time, he was confused by the irrefutable proof that Sasuke's number was blocked from his phone.
"Yeah, that's right. You changed your cell so I couldn't even talk to you. Until you texted me the night you got expelled. Where you so scared of talking things out that you had to try to cut all possible ties with me?" They were shouting at each other now.
"I texted you? I don't really remember... I got kind of wasted that night at Nagato's," Naruto paused, trying to think back. It had been a really bad day. He remembered just wanting to drown himself.
"Yeah, that seems to be a bit of a new hobby of yours. Getting high and wasted. How's that working out for you?" Sasuke sneered.
"You didn't seem to have a problem with it last night. Besides, you're one to talk, Mr. 'I fuck anything that comes within five feet of my dick'. Was that what last night was about, too?"
The next thing Naruto knew, he was flying through the air and landed on his back. While Naruto was still trying to get his wind back, Sasuke sat across his hips, straddling them and pinning him down.
Sasuke grabbed his phone back from Naruto, and scrolled through his old texts to the ones from nine months ago, the night Naruto had left. He pushed the screen in Naruto's face. "Tell me you didn't get those. It says they were delivered. This was before you blocked me. But the next morning, I tried to call and couldn't get through."
Naruto grabbed the phone and scrolled through. His eyes widened as he read, and he felt his anger bleeding out of him.
Naruto? Is that you?
I'm sorry I wasn't here when you left
I had no idea they'd kick you out
Neji said you were upset
Are you ok?
I went to see Sora. I wanted to kick his ass for what he did
I really wish you had talked to me about it
Naruto?
I'm going to go see the dean tomorrow with Neji
We're going to try to get your expulsion reversed
Naruto
Please call me
I really want to talk
"But.. I never got these," his voice was full of confusion and remembered hurt. Naruto pulled out his own phone and scrolled through. Neither boy was much into texting, so it wasn't too hard to find the old messages. Naruto turned his phone to Sasuke. "I didn't get them, Sas. I swear. If I had..." it would have meant everything. Naruto couldn't say it. It was all too raw. "I thought... when you didn't come to the station, I though you had just written me off. I knew things had been bad, but... damn, that fucking hurt. I would have done anything to help you, if the situation had been reversed. I would never have just left you in jail for someone you barely knew to come bail you out."
Sasuke slid off Naruto, his anger also dissipating at the truthfulness of Naruto's words reflected in his face, and rolled onto his back on the grass next to Naruto. "I didn't just leave you. I went to find Sora," Sasuke said softly. He had realized that it had been a mistake to not go with Neji to the jail. But he had been so full of anger when he had found out about Sora. And he hadn't known that would be his last chance to see Naruto for almost a year.
Naruto sat up with a lurch. "You... why?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at him. "You know why. He date raped you. And you still helped the bastard out, and landed in jail for it. I wanted to kill that guy."
Naruto just looked at Sasuke, his eyes wide. "Um... is he ok?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I didn't actually kill him, if that's what you're asking, you idiot."
"So... what did you do?"
"I... might have pounded him into the wall of his dorm room. But I left him alone after that."
Naruto released a breath. "I'm glad you didn't hurt him too much."
Sasuke glared at him. "Why? He deserved anything he got as far as I'm concerned."
"It wasn't like that Sasuke. We were... almost dating. I was just trying to get over... someone... before I got into a relationship with him. We just got our signals crossed, and he pushed things too fast too soon. I ended out friendship because of it. But he really wasn't a bad guy."
Sasuke snorted. He caught the 'someone' comment, and had a pretty good idea now who that someone was. But he wanted to clarify something first about Sora before they got to that. "You are a complete idiot, Naruto. He absolutely was a 'bad guy.'"
Naruto snickered. Sasuke glared, "What."
"You're so cute when you play the jealous boyfriend thing. But you know..." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "I am going to have to kick your ass for knocking me down like that."
"Like you could," Sasuke said.
"Sas, if there was one thing I was always better than you at, it was fighting."
"Hn," Sasuke said non-committally. It might be true, but it was not something Sasuke would ever admit. "Boyfriend, huh?" Sasuke said with a seemingly casual tone. "Are you asking me out or something?"
Naruto looked down at where Sasuke was still lying in the grass. "Maybe."
Sasuke smirked. "Why only maybe?"
"Weelll," Naruto drawled. "I'm not really sure I want to date an asshole. But, I guess you're sort of hot, and the sex was pretty decent so..."
Sasuke grabbed Naruto's shirt (which was actually his shirt) and yanked him down on top of him. "Just pretty decent?"
"Get a room, guys," Shikamaru called from out the kitchen window.
Naruto reluctantly stood up, and offered a hand to Sasuke. He clasped it and let Naruto pull him up.
"But that doesn't explain how my number ended up blocked on your cell," Sasuke said. His anger had clearly faded with the realization that Naruto had evidently not been the one to do it. But he wasn't going to let the matter drop. Someone had blocked his number.
Naruto didn't know what to say. There were only four people who could have done it. And he was pretty sure he could guess which one had. What he had no clue about, though, was why.
"I'll handle it," Naruto said, his voice resigned but hard. Sasuke just looked at him, wanting Naruto to tell him what he thought had happened, but knowing it was too early to push for it. He had been out of Naruto's life for a while. It would take a little time to be fully enmeshed again.
They walked into the house together. Shikamaru met them at the door, blocking their entry to the house and speaking quickly in a low voice. "I had to hold him back when he saw Sasuke knock you down. Luckily, he heard enough of what Sasuke said after that that I think he no longer wants to kill him, but keep your eyes open."
Naruto didn't need to ask who 'he' was. Instead, he turned to Sasuke, who was looking slightly puzzled. "Sasuke... I think it's time you met my other roommate."
They walked in and Sasuke was greeted by a glare and cold appraisal that was worthy of an Uchiha. "Gaara, this is Sasuke. Sasuke, this is Gaara."
The two men eyed each other for a minute, unspeaking. Naruto cleared his throat nervously. The similarity in temperament between the two men was a little scary. "Ok, so, now that we're all friends, how about we order out some dinner? I got paid today, so I can even buy. At least, I think I can..." Naruto realized he hadn't even opened the envelope with the check.
He ripped it open, hoping it would at least cover the rent he owed to his roommates, and maybe some ramen.
His ears started ringing and he staggered two steps back. He blinked up to see Gaara and Sasuke both eyeing him with concern.
"Dobe, are you ok? You look like you're about to fall over," Sasuke tried to look annoyed, but his concern was clearly showing.
Gaara glared at Sasuke. "If he hit his head when you shoved him, I will fucking-"
"No, stop! I just..." Naruto held out the check that was still clasped in his fingers. Green eyes and black eyes widened in shock.
"Oh, my god, Naruto. This is... this is a check for seventy thousand dollars," Sasuke said.
Shikamaru walked over to see what all the commotion was about.
"Holy shit, Shika, you'll never believe this!" Naruto said, showing the check to his friend.
Shikamaru shrugged, not looking at all surprised. "That's nothing compared to what's coming," he said, grabbing a sheet of paper, he sketched out some quick numbers, then handed it to Naruto. "This is what you'll get if the album does even half as well as their last one."
Naruto just stared. He had never imagined he would make that kind of money. Ever. He wasn't a 'stuff' kind of guy, so he never really coveted how much money Sasuke or Gaara had. But it would be amazing to not have to worry about making rent or paying tuition.
"Shika... this is... unbelievable."
Shikamaru just smiled. "Just don't sign on for a second album without my help, Naruto."
Naruto snorted almost in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? If I ever have to sign any kind of contract again, I'm dragging you with me whether you want to or not," Naruto was still trying to absorb this new reality. "Shika, we need to figure out your agent's fee for this. I mean, when we were doing it, I didn't even think about it because I just thought... it was cool to sort of get some of my writing published or whatever. I had no idea there would be real money like this. But you should get an agent's cut."
Shikamaru shrugged. "It was less than an hour's work, Naruto. Don't worry about it."
"Oh, no, Shika. You're not going to pull that crap. Temari, back me up here. Help me find out what the usual agent's cut it. It has to be at least 10%. I'm not going to have the first thing I do as a published song writer be to screw my friend over. I wouldn't have made anything on this if you hadn't helped me out. I had no idea what half that stuff you guys were talking about that day even meant."
Shikamaru just shrugged again. "Whatever. But you don't need to."
Naruto grinned at Sasuke. "And now maybe I can actually take my boyfriend out instead of always mooching off him."
It was said jokingly, but Sasuke knew how much this meant to Naruto. Growing up, Naruto had felt guilty about always eating over at Sasuke's house, always catching rides from Itachi, never being able to afford the presents for Sasuke or Itachi that he had wanted to get them. They hadn't talked about it, but Sasuke would catch flashes of guilt or embarrassment in his friend's eyes sometimes, and it would eat at him because he knew there was nothing he could do or say to make that feeling go away.
Sasuke smiled at Naruto, giving him a small shove on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Dobe. I can't wait to hear the album."
Naruto smiled, then slowly a look of horror spread across his face as he realized that there was no way that Sasuke wouldn't know that all the songs he had written were about him.
"I already read them, Naruto," Sasuke said softly.
Naruto cast a panicked look at Shikamaru, who raised his hands in defense. "Don't tell me you aren't happy with the outcome, Naruto. Besides, you're the one who agreed to have them recorded. It's not like he wasn't going to know as soon as he heard them anyway. At least I didn't give him your notebooks."
"Fuck," Naruto breathed out, trying to decide if he felt relieved, embarrassed, or angry.
Sasuke pulled Naruto into the kitchen for at least a little privacy. "I'm glad he did, Naruto. I just wish that you would have said something to me earlier about it."
"Sasuke, I just didn't know if..." Naruto trailed off.
"I know. I did the same thing. I didn't want to risk our friendship."
"So... you know I've liked you since high school, then. Right?" Naruto asked, a little hesitantly.
"Yeah. And I've like you even longer than that."
"But then, why did you react that way when I kissed you?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Because, you idiot, you kept saying that you didn't like guys and that the whole thing was some stupid test to help me figure myself out. I had figured it out a long time ago. I didn't need your help."
Naruto processed that for a minute. "Oh," was all he could think of to say at the moment.
"Yeah, oh." Sasuke said.
"Well, you still should have told me. We were best friends," Naruto stated flatly.
"We still are best friends. And you could have told me, too."
"Well, you started dating Sakura right away."
"And you got jealous."
"Yeah, of her because she was dating you."
Now it was Sasuke's turn to process things. "Oh," he said, equally articulate.
"Yeah, oh," Naruto mimicked.
Sasuke blew out a small laugh. "God, we completely screwed up the past two years."
Naruto leaned his forehead against Sasuke's. "Yeah. Let's do better this year, ne?"
"Definitely," Sasuke said, sliding his body flush with Naruto's and pulling Naruto's mouth to his.
A growling sound interrupted them. Naruto looked down at his stomach in embarrassment. "Um, let's order some food. RAMEN'S ON ME!" Naruto shouted into the living room, going out to discuss what flavors everyone wanted him to order. Sasuke just watched from the kitchen door, half wishing he could just pull Naruto back to his hotel room, but half enjoying the sight of his friend so happy.
They had a small party with the five of them to celebrate. It was the first time in Naruto's life that he had enough money to pay for everyone, and it felt awesome.
Naruto took a picture of the check and e-mailed it to Jiraya, proof of his first wage as an actual writer.
"And I didn't even have to write porn to do it," Naruto laughed as he sent it off.
"No, but you pretty much filmed some," Gaara grumbled.
Sasuke frowned. "So, are you really going to do a second album with Yahiko?"
The room fell silent as everyone turned to see what Naruto would say. "Well... I don't know," Naruto said, feeling conflicted about the whole thing now that he realized he could have an actual career with this. But it would mean working in an industry that was known for ripping people's personal lives apart.
-xXx-
to be continued...