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: There is a CLIFFHANGER this chapter. It is intentional, unlike last chapter's which just proved that I am poor at knowing where to end a chapter. I thought I had avoided the cliffy by revealing the secret. Sorry 'bout that. This cliffy is much worse. Not sorry about that. :-)
-xXx-
"I want to know why you thought it was strange that Nagato and I are friends," Naruto said.
Jiraya paused, trying to decide if there was a way to soften the words, but deciding after a few seconds that directness was probably the best bet.
"Because," Jiraya said. He hesitated before going on, knowing this was not going to go well. "Because he knew your father. Your father was in the process of trying to adopt him when he died."
"What?" Naruto said, his face looking pale.
Jiraya sighed, knowing that this was going to be painful for Naruto to hear. He had avoided talking about Naruto's parents beyond the basic 'they loved you very much' sorts of things.
"You know that your father was a firefighter. And he died in a fire before you were born. Your mother found out she was pregnant a few weeks after his death. They were engaged, but not yet married. If Minato had known, he would have married her right away. If I had known about you, I would have stayed and raised you from the beginning."
"I know all this. That's why I have my mother's last name instead of my father's. She could hardly eat during the pregnancy and was basically on bed rest the whole time. She didn't know how to contact you, and I came early. She died unexpectedly in labor and there were no living relatives. We don't need to re-hash this," Naruto said tiredly. It was not something he liked to dwell on. He carefully didn't look at Sasuke. They had only talked about the deaths of their parents once. He didn't want any pity or sympathy. It had happened, and life had gone on. There was no point on dwelling on what could have been.
"What you didn't know was that three years before you were born, your father had pulled Nagato out of the fire that killed Nagato's parents. The apartment complex that they had been living in had caught fire in the middle of the night. There was something wrong with the smoke alarm system, and no one woke in time. Over a hundred people died in that fire. By the time the fire department had reached the scene, the building was already ablaze and unsafe to enter. Your father heard someone calling for help from a third floor window. He ran into the building and pulled out Nagato. But the boy's parents had already died of smoke inhalation. Nagato was the only survivor of the entire building. He was ten years old."
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance. They could imagine only too well what that would have done to Nagato.
"Nagato had cooked dinner for his family that night because his mother had been ill. He kept insisting that he must have left the stove on, that the whole thing was his fault. The fire department had determined the source of the fire to be faulty wiring, which was why it started on multiple floors and spread quietly inside the walls before anyone could detect it, but Nagato just couldn't accept that it was not his fault. He... had to be hospitalized. Minato visited him. He was the only one who was able to reach the boy. Slowly, after several months, Minato was able to convince Nagato that it wasn't his fault and he hadn't caused the deaths of his parents and neighbors. He saved that boy twice."
Naruto didn't know what to say. He remembered back to the night Nagato had come into his room, stroking his hair, talking about a nightmare that had kept him up. He had no doubt that it was memories of the fire. He supposed something like that wasn't the kind of thing that you really ever got over. In a way, Naruto was perhaps fortunate that he had no memories of his parents' deaths.
"Your dad was only nineteen at the time. He knew that Nagato would have a hard time being adopted, or even placed in a foster home both because of his age and because he now had a history of mental illness. He tried to adopt him, but was told he had to wait until he was at least twenty-one. He visited Nagato in the orphanage every week, and spent time with him. Kushina met him, and agreed that they would get married and adopt Nagato. As soon as your father turned twenty-one, he applied to adopt him. But..."
"But he died playing hero in another fire," Naruto said numbly.
Jiraya sighed sadly. "Your father was one of the bravest men I've ever known, Naruto."
Naruto breathed out an uncharacteristically bitter laugh. "Yeah. And look what good it did us all."
Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto took a step away, breaking the contact. He couldn't handle pity right now. Sasuke let his hand fall, understanding and knowing not to push.
After several minutes of heavy silence, Sasuke shifted, "Do you think he is unstable? You mentioned he was hospitalized for mental illness."
"I don't know. Minato's death crushed Nagato. First he lost his parents, then he lost the only other person he'd been able to connect with after that. He struggled to accept Minato's death. He insisted on seeing the body, and visited his grave every day for months. Kushina tried to talk with him, but shortly after your father's death, she went on bed rest and was not able to visit the boy. And then she died as well. I don't think he knew that she was pregnant with you. It wasn't something that she would have told a young child. She probably assumed she would have time to tell him later, and maybe even would have pursued the adoption on her own. I wasn't around then, so I didn't know any of this was happening. I only found out years later. But... you look so much like your father, Naruto. And now you are almost at exactly the same age he was when he saved Nagato from the fire. I just think you should know that there is some chance that Nagato might view you in a bit of the same light as he viewed your father, even though Nagato is so much older than you. Or he might be thinking of you as the brother he should have had. I don't know."
Naruto thought about that, about how possessive and protective Nagato seemed to be. His guess was that Nagato didn't really understand either what he needed from Naruto. Naruto didn't know how to feel about this. His thoughts and emotions were just a muddied swirl.
"I know he was institutionalized when he was ten, and again at thirteen when Minato died. I didn't really keep track of him after that. Then one day he showed up in my writing class. His stuff was dark, but he did very well in school. He had friends, girlfriends... he appeared to have stabilized. And of course now he is incredibly successful. It seems like he came out the other side of this ok, despite everything."
Sasuke persisted. "But you were worried when you found out that he had become friends with Naruto."
"Yes. Because it was odd that they should just 'bump into' each other. And it also bothered me that Nagato didn't tell Naruto anything about their shared history after they became friends."
Sasuke and Naruto didn't comment. They understood that last part. Talking about the death of your parents and how it changed you wasn't something they discussed with anyone. Ever. No matter how long they had known their other friends, this sort of thing just cut too deep to be shared.
Jiraya looked at the clock on the wall. "I have to get to class, kiddo. You ok?"
Naruto shrugged, but nodded. The older man grabbed his notebook, threw one last concerned glance at Naruto, then headed down the hall to the lecture room.
Naruto and Sasuke stayed in his office for several minutes, neither speaking. Finally Naruto sighed. "God, life just fucking sucks sometimes doesn't it?"
Sasuke let out a short laugh. "Yeah. Pretty much."
Naruto blew out a breath. "Look, I know you have classes the rest of the day. You should go."
"What about you?" Sasuke asked.
"I have one more class. Then I'm done. I think I need to just... think."
"I'll swing by your room after my last class. Come over to my place tonight. We can have dinner and hang out."
"Yeah, ok," Naruto said a little numbly.
Sasuke had felt uncomfortable ever since he had met Nagato, feeling like the man's obsession with Naruto was somehow dangerous, or at least unhealthy. Knowing the reason why didn't eliminate that feeling. Now he just felt guilty about feeling it.
-xXx-
Sasuke messaged Naruto when he finished his last class and told him to meet up in the parking lot. Naruto shoved a change of clothes in his backpack and headed down to meet him.
They walked silently back to Sasuke's apartment. As Sasuke pulled out his key to unlock his door, Naruto finally noticed the bag that Sasuke had been carrying.
"What's that?"
"Dinner," Sasuke said. Naruto shrugged. For once he wasn't actually hungry. He hadn't eaten lunch either.
He was surprised when Sasuke set the bag down on the coffee table, rather than the dining room table. He walked to the kitchen and returned with two glasses.
"Sit," Sasuke said, indicating the couch. He pulled out several bottles of sake from the bag.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, but accepted the drink. It struck him that he and Sasuke had never actually gone drinking together. The closest they had been was that night at the club, but Naruto had done all his drinking before Sasuke had shown up.
"Bottoms up," Sasuke said, lifting his glass.
Naruto smirked, raising his glass and touching it to Sasuke's. "Kanpai," he responded.
They drank in silence for a while. Sasuke knew that Naruto had always yearned for a family, a sense of belonging that went beyond casual friendships or even most dating relationships. Sasuke and Itachi had been the closest thing that Naruto had ever had to achieving that. But to hear that he had come so close to having a brother, someone else that could have been there for him in his childhood, was like fate rubbing salt in an old, unhealed wound.
Naruto shuddered after finishing a glass. He had consumed far more than Sasuke, but didn't seem overly drunk. Sasuke figured that with the amount of drinking Naruto had done over the past two years his tolerance had grown significantly. Sasuke hadn't even tried to keep up, but his head was already spinning.
"I have no idea what to say to Nagato," Naruto said finally. "I mean... he mentioned at one point that he didn't want me to live in the dorms, because it felt like finally having a family when I was living with him."
Naruto stared down at his empty glass, running his finger around the rim repetitively.
"I guess now I know why he was thinking that. It's the way it should have been. Like you and Itachi. I almost had that. Just a few more months. If my dad had lived a few more fucking months."
Sasuke sat with Naruto in companionable silence. He knew that what Naruto needed most right now was someone to listen to him, someone to be there and let him work through his tangled thoughts.
"I guess... I should tell him that I know about him and my father. And won't that be an awkward conversation. 'Yeah, you know the worst two experiences in your life that you still have nightmares about? Jiraya told me all about it, so I know. Wanna be bros now? I know it's like twenty years too late, but what the hell.'"
Sasuke blew out a short laugh. "Is that what you want? To try to be like a brother to him now?"
Naruto shrugged, pouring himself more sake. "I don't know. We have a lot in common. And... we both got damaged by the same event. We are siblings in a way, I guess."
Naruto looked up from his glass. "He was the one who blocked your phone, you know."
Sasuke finished his drink, not trusting himself to say anything about that. It's hard to be really mad at someone you just found out had as much crap happen to them as Nagato had. "That's messed up. Even for a brother to do," Sasuke said eventually.
Naruto laughed. It had a drunken ring even to his own ears. "I dunno. Itachi has a pretty hands-on approach to interfering in your life."
"Yeah. But he didn't try to get between us. If anything, he was trying to help me figure things out with you."
Naruto blushed. He hadn't forgotten the fact that Itachi had packed the lube. "Yeah. But he knew me. Nagato doesn't really know you. He only saw the damage, not the good parts."
"Maybe he was jealous because he wanted you to be his family, but you had become my family instead. You found where you belong, and it was with me. We both... found it."
Sasuke never talked about emotional things. His unguarded words washed through Naruto. He looked up, his eyes locking on Sasuke's. The depth of emotion that he saw in the black eyes pulled at him, soothing away some of the sharper edges of the emotional upheaval he was feeling. Suddenly, more than anything else, Naruto needed to feel that connection. Something that was solid and real and not tainted with ghosts of the past.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked, his voice going husky.
"Yeah," Sasuke said, leaning in and pulling Naruto's mouth to his. The kiss started out slow and deep, sake-soaked tongues stroking each other and pulling together. But the heat built rapidly, and soon fumbling hands were wrenching apart buttons and zippers.
They went from slow and deep to hot and pounding in no time flat.
Some time later, they found themselves naked on the floor next to the sofa. Their bodies beginning to cool, their emotions still swirling.
Naruto rolled his head to the side, squinting as the room continued to move long after his head had stopped. He sighed, running his hand up and down along Sasuke's pale back. "You know..." he began.
Sasuke looked hazily over at him. "Hn?"
"I wonder if we would have still been friends if my parents had adopted Nagato before they died."
Sasuke slowly leaned over, then shoved Naruto on the shoulder. "Idiot. Of course we would have."
"But Nagato would have been an adult way before we met. I wouldn't have been in foster care after I turned five. He had moved to Suna before I ever went to school."
"Doesn't matter," Sasuke said, his words slurring and his eyes drifting closed. "Would have found you anywhere."
Naruto grinned down at his boyfriend, who was completely dead to the world, sprawled naked on the floor. "Lightweight," Naruto said, running his fingers gently through the soft black hair. "I would have found you, too."
Naruto walked to Sasuke's bedroom and grabbed some pillows and a blanket for them, then came back and lay down next to his naked lover and slept.
-xXx-
Naruto woke feeling stiff from spending a night on the floor. He felt the solid warmth beside him and rolled over to bury his nose in Sasuke's neck, breathing in the scent of him as he let the morning slowly wake him. He stomach was sore and unhappy, having skipped both lunch and dinner and pouring copious amounts of alcohol into his system. After several minutes, he carefully extracted himself from their makeshift bed and made his way to the kitchen, completely comfortable in his nudity.
He set some rice porridge cooking, figuring that Sasuke would probably want something when he woke as well. Sasuke had clearly drunk way more last night than he had the night at the club, and Naruto knew that Sasuke wasn't used to drinking and would likely be in rough shape. He thought about showering, but decided he'd rather wait for Sasuke, so he just pulled his boxers on from the day before.
A soft groan alerted him to Sasuke's waking, and he turned off the heat on the stove and walked over to the living room. He slid back under the blanket and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist, pulling him close.
"Mpf, Dobe. When did you get up?" Sasuke's voice was low and rough with sleep.
"Mmmm," Naruto said against the pale throat. "Maybe half an hour ago. I made some porridge. How's your stomach?"
Sasuke grimaced at the mention of stomachs. "How is it that you drank more than twice what I did last night, and you're fine this morning?"
Naruto chuckled softly at the crankiness in Sasuke's voice. "Well, I have spent the last couple of years being a bit of an idiot, so I suppose I have more tolerance. Though you'll be catching up soon, once you start getting more involved with your business."
Sasuke groaned softly. Japanese businessmen drank like fish when it came to dinner meetings over major deals. They both had seen Itachi stumbling home when he had first taken over the business. He had gotten his legs under him soon enough, but the first several meetings had been rough. Sasuke had forgotten about that. It was not something he was looking forward to. His only solace was that at least his boyfriend appeared to know how to properly care for a hangover, judging from the gentle smell of cooking rice coming from the kitchen.
"Are you going to feed me, then?" Sasuke asked with a smirk.
Naruto snorted. "Not likely. But I suppose I can bring you breakfast in bed if you promise to make it up to me later."
"Hmmm," Sasuke said, sliding his fingers up Naruto's thighs and under the fabric of his boxers. "I think that can definitely be arranged."
Naruto sucked a breath through his teeth as one of Sasuke's hands reached its destination in between Naruto's legs.
"Unless you are up for that right now, I should probably go and get your breakfast."
Sasuke considered his head and stomach, then reluctantly withdrew his hands from Naruto's boxers. "God, I hate sake."
Naruto placed a kiss on Sasuke's brow, trying to hide his laughter at Sasuke's hung over state.
-xXx-
Sasuke had fallen behind over the weekend as he had put his studies on hold to spend time with Naruto. He understood that Naruto, being who he was, was going to try to make things right for Nagato.
But that didn't mean that Sasuke didn't still have reservations about the older man. He wasn't going to tell Naruto how to handle the situation at this point, but he decided he needed to find out more about the man's past. After Naruto had left for class on Monday, Sasuke put in a call to Itachi.
"Nii-san."
"Otouto. How are classes?"
"Fine... I'm still on track to graduate this year."
"I expected as much. But somehow I doubt that is the reason you're calling. Is everything ok?"
"I... am not sure." Sasuke succinctly told Itachi about what Jiraya had revealed about Nagato's history with Minato, and the fact that Naruto was going to try to talk to Nagato about it this weekend.
Itachi was silent for a moment, as he thought about it. "How is Naruto handling it?"
"About as expected. He was surprised, and of course it brought everything back. Everything he could have had, but didn't."
Itachi and Sasuke both paused, not wanting to revisit similar emotions themselves.
"But you have concerns that go beyond just Naruto's emotional health."
"I just think that the degree of Nagato's fixation on Naruto is still strange, even with all this. Jiraya mentioned that the man had some mental issues as a child. But I wonder if he is really over it. Jiraya didn't know Nagato particularly well... I don't know if he knows the whole story with Nagato. The guy makes me nervous."
"Does he make you nervous, or does he make you jealous? "
Sasuke frowned. "I don't think Naruto likes Nagato romantically, if that's what you're asking me."
"No, Otouto. That's not what I'm asking you. Nagato wants Naruto as his family. So do you. They don't have to be mutually exclusive goals. And I am asking if you understand that."
"Of course I do," Sasuke said, though honestly he wasn't so sure.
The skeptical silence on the other end of the phone indicated that Itachi also had his doubts.
"You want me to see what I can find out about Nagato's medical history?"
"And anything else you can about his relationship with Minato. I just... feel like there is something wrong."
Itachi took that seriously. Sasuke wasn't someone who usually over-reacted to things, or looked for drama where there was none.
"I'll do my best. I have a few friends who are good at looking into things. I'll let you know if I come up with anything that you should worry about. Medical records might take a while to find, since we have no idea where Nagato might have gone for treatment. If he even sought treatment. Mental issues often go untreated, and he had no family looking after him who would force the issue."
"I know. Just.. let me know if you find anything," Sasuke said.
-xXx-
After spending Thursday fighting with Sasuke, and Friday and most of the weekend freaking out about what he had learned about Nagato and what he was going to do about it, Naruto found himself behind on two major writing projects that were due at the end of the week. He tried plowing through them, but his mind was so unfocused that it took him almost twice as long as usual to complete the work.
He had decided to wait to talk to Nagato until the weekend, giving himself time to process how he felt about it and what sort of relationship he wanted with the older man. He still hadn't really come up with a good way to broach the subject, but as usual decided he would just dive right in when he saw him and hope for the best.
By the time Friday came around, Naruto was exhausted and stressed, but he had gotten his projects done on time. He had called Nagato and asked if they could meet up. Nagato had said he was going to be on campus Friday anyway, and would pick Naruto up after the boy's last class.
-xXx-
Gaara was sitting in his room listening to music that evening when his phone rang. Looking over, he saw it was Naruto. Naruto had told Gaara about the situation with Nagato earlier that week. Gaara had mixed feelings about it. Jiraya had seemed worried, and that worried Gaara. He knew that Jiraya had been at best a cavalier guardian to Naruto while he was growing up. If something had that man feeling unsettled, Gaara took that seriously. He had asked Naruto to call him and let him know how things went.
"Hey, Gaara," Naruto said, fighting back a yawn. "Nagato and I are going to go grab some dinner, then he's going to drop me back at the dorms. I should be back in an hour or two. Do you want to go down to the track tomorrow morning to blow off some steam?"
"Sure. Kankuro said there are some guys from Los Angeles there scouting for talent this week, so it might be a little crowded later in the day. Morning should be fine, though. Will you be up for it?"
"Yeah. I'm not going to stay out late. I'm fucking exhausted. I'll be lucky if I don't fall asleep at dinner."
"Did you already talk to Nagato?"
"Yeah. It was good. It's tough, but I think we're going to figure things out. He said he was going to show me some stuff at dinner, then take me home. I think he has some old photos or something."
"Ok. I'll see you in a bit," Gaara said. Given he didn't sleep much, he knew he'd be awake regardless of what time Naruto came home.
"Later."
-xXx-
Sasuke woke to the sound of his phone ringing. He reached over and grabbed it off his night stand.
"What?"
"Sasuke, is Naruto with you?"
"Gaara? What time is it?"
"It's one in the morning. Is Naruto with you?"
"No. He knows I have to be up early tomorrow, and he was going to go have his chat with Nagato tonight. He said he'd catch me up tomorrow. Why?"
"He called me about five hours ago and said he'd be home in an hour or two. He was going to go out to dinner with Nagato. We were supposed to go to the race track early tomorrow morning, and he said he'd be back early. I tried his cell, but no one picks up."
Sasuke felt a cold feeling settle in his stomach, and sweat broke out on the palms of his hands. "Did he say whether he had talked to Nagato? Did they argue about it?"
"He said they'd talked but everything was fine, that they were going to work through things together."
Sasuke sat there for a second. Something felt really wrong with this. "Fuck," he said succinctly. "Do you know Nagato's phone number?
"No... I've never called him. But I have his address."
"Ok. Meet me there. I'm leaving in three minutes," Sasuke said, already pulling on his jeans and looking for a shirt.
In less than fifteen minutes, Sasuke was pulling his car into the gated driveway of Nagato's house. Gaara was already waiting.
"The house looks dark," Gaara said.
Sasuke walked up and rung the bell. After a few minutes, a light went on. They could hear feet making stumbling progress to the door, and it finally swung open to reveal a man that Sasuke had never seen.
"Zetsu," Gaara said. "Where's Naruto?"
"Wuh?" The man said, his eyes glassy with more than just sleep.
"Naruto," Sasuke said succinctly. "Where is he?"
"Mmm... left with Nagato I think. They're not back yet?"
"Let's check," Sasuke said, stepping into the house before Zetsu had a chance to think about it.
"You can look in the garage to see if his car's back," Zetsu offered, motioning to the other side of the house where presumably there was a door that led to the garage. I think he took the BMW."
Gaara headed off in the direction Zetsu had pointed. Sasuke figured it didn't take two people to check the car. "Where is Naruto's room?"
"He usually stays upstairs, sixth room on the left," Zetsu said. "If you guys don't need me for anything else, I'm going to go into the kitchen. I'm feeling hungry."
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the stoner's munchies and went upstairs. He didn't know why he felt so panicked but Gaara looked equally on edge. At least he wasn't alone in his anxiety.
The guest room that Naruto used to use was empty, the bed neat and clearly untouched. Sasuke turned to see Gaara standing behind him.
"Car's not back," Gaara said. They looked at each other for a minute, not sure what to do.
"Zetsu is stoned off his ass. Let's check the other rooms and see if there is someone else in this house who might know where they went," Sasuke said.
They went down the hall, knocking on doors and opening them when they received no answer. Gaara took the doors on the right, and Sasuke took the doors on the left. At the end of the hall they knocked on the last door in the wing. Sasuke tried the door, but it was locked.
Gaara reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small cloth case. He extracted two thin metal tools, and knelt down in front of the lock. Within thirty seconds, the latch clicked open.
Sasuke quirked a brow in question.
"All my father's best secrets are locked in dark closets. I learned to open them early."
Not knowing quite what to say about that, Sasuke simply pushed open the door. And froze.
It was clearly Nagato's room. And it was also clear why the door was kept locked.
Every surface of every wall was covered with photos, letters, and news clippings. Of Naruto, and a man that looked very much like him. Sasuke recognized him from the few photos that Naruto had of his parents. It was definitely Minato.
"Oh, shit," Gaara said, slowly walking around the room, his usually expressionless face mirroring the shock and fear that Sasuke imagined was on his own.
Looking closely at the room, each wall appeared to have its own theme. The first wall immediately to the left of the door seemed to focus on Minato. There were the news clippings of the fire, describing how Minato had miraculously saved Nagato despite being ordered to not enter the burning building. There weren't many photos outside of what had been cut from periodicals. Other stories of Minato's bravery. Then his death and funeral.
There were letters from Minato to Nagato, encouraging him and reassuring him that the fire wasn't his fault and that everything would be ok. Then later ones saying that Minato wanted to adopt him, but he was having trouble because of his age. Again reassuring Nagato that things would be ok and Minato would take care of him.
A copy of the application for Minato to adopt Nagato. Minato's death certificate and a copy of the medical examiner's report on his death. A few letters from Kushina, apologizing that she was too sick to come visit Nagato but that she was going to take up the application to adopt him as soon as she was better. Then her obituary in the paper. Sasuke noticed that it didn't say what she died of in the obituary, and that she hadn't mentioned her pregnancy in the letters. Nagato likely didn't know at the time that she had been pregnant. But his focus had clearly been on Minato, and he evidently hadn't followed up after Kushina's death to uncover the reason for it.
The next wall was covered with photos and news clippings of Naruto, as well as pieces of Naruto's writing, and some of Nagato's own. What made Sasuke's blood run cold was that these photos started off when Naruto was still in Konoha High. And they were taken in Konoha.
Some of the photos on this wall showed Naruto and Sasuke together. Naruto's arm thrown around Sasuke, laughter in his blue eyes while Sasuke pretended to look annoyed. Others showed Sasuke with Sakura, sometimes with Naruto off to the side, looking at them with a longing expression. There were a lot of photos like that, capturing moments that Sasuke had never seen. Sasuke walking ahead of Naruto, and Naruto looking at him hungrily. Sasuke kissing Sakura, Naruto turning away looking ill. And the writings were from Naruto's journal, not the published songs. They were much darker than what the boy had chosen to share with the public, and it ripped at Sasuke's conscience to read how anguished and lonely Naruto had been when their friendship had started to fall apart.
The photos transitioned to some taken at college, before Naruto had transferred to Suna. Sasuke smirking at some girl, Naruto watching from off to the side. Naruto sitting alone, looking lost. Naruto at parties getting hammered. There were a few of Naruto with Sora that Sasuke wanted to rip off the wall and tear into tiny bits.
The final wall showed Naruto at Suna. Yahiko made some appearances here, which caused Sasuke's fist to clench. There were more with Sasuke and Naruto again. This time, the photos were happier, with both of them looking at each other openly. Some from that first night at the club that Sasuke told himself he was going to have to go and beat the shit out of Sai for. In fact he made a mental note to get a restraining order put on the man as soon as possible.
But he was shocked to see what the most recent set of photos were about. The final set of photos was just of Sasuke. At his office. There were photos of Suigetsu looking at Sasuke's ass as he was walking past. But most were of Karin and Sasuke. It was true that Karin constantly flirted with Sasuke, but these photos seemed to imply that something way more than flirting was going on. It showed her with her hand on his cheek (he had immediately wrenched it off, but there was no photo of that), of her bending over in his face so he could look down her shirt (which he had absolutely no interest in doing). There were dozens of them.
And more of Naruto studying alone or sitting alone outside at night.
"Wow. No wonder Nagato hates you. Looking at these photos, you'd think you were ruining Naruto's life," Gaara said, sounding a little shocked. "These are all Sai's photos. You can tell by the angles."
Sasuke took a shaking breath. This was so fucked up. "It isn't what it looks like in these last ones," Sasuke said. He generally didn't care what people thought of him. But Gaara mattered to Naruto. And if Sasuke were honest, he respected Gaara a bit as well.
"I know. I've been around you long enough to be able to read your expressions. You have zero interest in either of these people. Just compare your face here to the ones where you are with Naruto. If Nagato showed these to Naruto, Naruto would realize it as well. But someone like Sai, who has trouble reading even the most obvious of emotions... he wouldn't understand. This is how he sees you. And likely how Nagato does as well, since he looks through Sai's eyes."
At least Sasuke now understood a little why Nagato had blocked his number. Not that he wasn't still pissed about it.
"Fuck. Where they hell did they go? And why didn't Naruto call one of us to tell us he was going somewhere?"
Just then, Zetsu stumbled into the room. "Hey, no one's allowed to be in here - holy shit!" the green-haired man said, finally looking around the room, his eyes growing wider and wider as he took in the photos. "Damn. I knew he had a thing for blondie, but this is..."
"Crazy?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.
Zetsu could only manage to shake his head as he took the same tour around the room that Gaara and Sasuke had just finished. He got to the end and looked over at Sasuke, his eyes narrowing. "You're kind of an ass, did you know that?"
Sasuke ignored Gaara's snicker, and pulled out his phone. Despite the hour, he had to know if Itachi had managed to find anything out.
"Itach', sorry for calling so late," Sasuke began.
"It's alright, little brother. Actually, I was going to call you first thing in the morning. This is better."
" Did you find something out about Nagato?"
"Yes. But you are not going to like it. You should tell Naruto not to confront Nagato about this alone. You said he was going to do it this weekend, right?"
Sasuke felt his stomach clench. "Too late. He went tonight to talk to him. But he didn't come back home. Now they're both missing."
-xXx-
to be continued...
so... Nagato is not evil, and he is not trying to get into Naruto's pants. But he is very, very ill. This is my version of canon Nagato, whom I love even though he briefly killed Kakashi.