Yeah, so my hard drive broke and lost everything… For good this time. All my unfinished stories, pics, etc. I lost what I've written on my 2 other running stories, so I won't be updating them for a while. I only have this story. -_- I have to rewrite the chapters or pay $500 to $1600+ to retrieve my data. I'm not in the fucking writing mood but I updated for those who were waiting. There may be some mistakes in the chapter and for that I apologize.
E|L|E|M|E|N|T
It had been two days, maybe three.
He had lost count.
The intricate curvature of the first reward he achieved after he escaped from underneath the disastrous roof of his home never ceased to astound him. The feet's appearance of symbolic ascension is what lured Naruto into the furniture store. The steel embargo on the leg insisted upon the area of initial twisting, making the leg more intricate than perceived. Admiring but ignoring the grand structure, he literally didn't penetrate where his gaze burned a hole. As the irreplaceable table physically captured his current attention's livelihood, he rechanneled his devotion into his outfit for the evening.
After a cleansing shower and spritz of subtle cologne mist, he shimmied into his emerald flannel shirt. After smoothing his dress pants with a warm iron, he climbed one pant leg at a time. Then, he crawled into his casual Stacy Adams. As he fixed his well-earned Tag watch on his slender wrist, he primped in the mirror: crunching his hair in his palms, examining his pouty pink lips, and checking for any unattended blemishes. Smiling at his reflection's groomed appearance, winking, he hoped he looked impressive by societal standards but more importantly, by Sasuke's standards. He wasn't particularly nervous, but he was unusually anxious. He didn't want to call it a date, but he couldn't find any other fitting words to accurately describe it.
An acquaintance going out? That would be a better way to appropriate the occasion, rather than trying to pull the pig out of the blanket but that wasn't the way Sasuke framed the invite.
He charmingly said, "How about I take you out?"
Even though Naruto had limited experience with relationships, he knew that you only said to someone you had romantic, at least sexual intentions with.
Either way, Naruto didn't mind. He wasn't going to turn Sasuke down.
Which was becoming more noticeable these days. Especially by Gaara. He complained that he never had any time to spend with him lately. But it wasn't on purpose. Since the city fair, he and Sasuke had spent more time together. It wasn't on purpose. They just clicked.
There was something about Sasuke. Like scuba diver canvasing the ocean, he had this innate desire to explore him. He couldn't help it but he didn't feel obligated to apologize for it either. Sasuke treated him a Hawaiian "princess" and he didn't plan on surrendering that so easily.
Even though he occasionally thought about Sakura.
He hadn't spoken to her in a while. Every time she called he turned off his phone off, and when she text him, he ignored the messages.
She was acting like this was going to be an easy fix, but it wasn't. She had to learn her lesson somehow. Now, she would know what it felt like to be tossed aside like garbage and disregarded like household pet.
Hopefully, she would enjoy the wile of isolation from the both of them.
Because he knew that Sakura must have missed Sasuke and his companionship. But it was too bad. She had done this to herself, by herself.
But Sakura was the least of his problems; he was more concerned about Gaara. He was getting increasingly suspicious of his absences. Although, he didn't leave any implications of self-incrimination by explaining his rain checks, he knew Gaara was still speculating something negative. He never liked him spending time with other guys so any excuses involving Sasuke would only prove to fail.
He couldn't bother with the Gaara's petty rules. He had better things to be concerned about, like building a wall between him and Sakura. He wasn't going to talk to her even if she dying in a burning building. Karma was bitch, born and raised; hell was where she spent most of her days…
Naruto blinked out of his stupor. Sasuke would be here soon and it wouldn't be very flattering if he was amending old tv opening themes in his head when he arrived. It would be best to start thinking about rainbows now.
…
At the center of the table, the candle's warm glow cast an intimate aura over the small dinner date.
Nordstrom cufflinks twinkled on the Uchiha's wrist, as he pulled back the chair for the patient teen behind him. Naruto smiled like an idiot strung out on a positively addictive drug, thanking him. Naruto closely admired the neatly ironed crème silk fabric suspending on Sasuke's Heaculean figure, elongating his strong physique and highlighting his long fingers. Slowly exhaling, Naruto swished buttocks in the red cushioned seat, calmly placing his hands on the oatmeal toned vinyl. As Sasuke sat, Naruto ogled Sasuke's cultivated chicness, wondering how he fine-tuned his manners to such an ideal altitude.
The older man neatly refolded his red napkin and wet his lips, automatically prompting Naruto to mildly bite his own. He suppressed the fine smirk that threatened to twitch onto his beautiful lips. His hands eagerly traded the table for his lap and he briefly avoiding eye contact with the gorgeous man.
"So," Naruto's chin immediately flew up as Sasuke spoke out. "Did you do your assignment?"
Naruto smiled and pulled out multiple slips of paper. "Yes, I did my assignment…teacher," Naruto amusingly grumbled, cynically rolling his eyes.
"Excellent job, my excellent student." Sasuke smirked.
"Why are we doing this again?" Naruto feigned aggravation as he refolded the strips of papers and then released them onto the table.
"Because it's a good exercise to eliminate our curiosity," Sasuke said doing the same as Naruto. "Consider me an animal of the feline variety."
"I'd prefer to consider you an animal of the rooster persuasion," Naruto joked, organizing his strips in the proper order, not rendering Sasuke's blankly offended expression.
Not realizing that he removed the venom from the snake, the blond still tenderly asked, "What was the first question that we were supposed to answer again?"
"What you like best."
"Okay, okay. I got this." He pulled up the first one and revealed it to Sasuke.
Sasuke gravitated toward the paper and read it slowly. "My honesty?"
Naruto gave a big shit-eating grin, folded the paper together, and put it aside. "Yes, that has to be your most remarkable trait, even more so than your inevitable way of forcing your endeavors on me."
"You call it a trait, I call it an honorary attribute," Sasuke mumbled, swimming in a sea of pride.
Naruto smirked. "Your unflattering, pompous feathers are showing."
"Are they? I try to bury it but some people just draggg it out in me."
"Then, I do apologize for the demolishing one of your less finer traits."
"Look who's talking." Sasuke snorted.
Naruto ignored him and asked. "What did you choose?"
Sasuke unfolded his.
Naruto read it then got confused. "You like my ego?"
"Of course—there's nothing sexier than someone who's securely confident about their personality."
Naruto's eyes twinkled like Polaris as he looked at Sasuke more or less seductively. "So you find it 'sexy'?"
"Yeah," Sasuke muttered, an optical playfulness unwinding above a beautiful, condescending smirk.
Naruto scrunched his nose. "Yet, you called me obnoxious last week."
"Planning to hold that against me I see? Are there any other grudges I should be aware of before we continue?" Sasuke leisurely asked, leaning on the table.
"NO." Naruto pouted. "I would just like to know if you find my self-confidence attractive, then why did you denounce it before this stup-"
Sasuke waved his finger at Naruto as a warning.
"Tedious," Naruto corrected for the sake of gentility. "Exercise?"
"Because for you—it's not a bad thing. It wasn't intended as an insult, more like an observation."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"You make it work," Sasuke said, shrugging.
Naruto still didn't believe him.
Sasuke looked at him straight in the eye. "Really."
Naruto raised an eyebrow and sighed."I'll except your explanation but never backtrack or I'll just back my car into you, accidentally."
"Threats? Really Naruto? I thought we were in an adult environment, in adult clothing, engaging in an adult conversation."
"My apologies. My childish obnoxiousness is showing," Naruto sneered, reaching for the next slip.
Sasuke chuckled lightly at Naruto's mocking attitude.
"Next category: best feature," Naruto said calmly.
"I want to go first," Sasuke opposed with a bold interruption.
"Uh, hell no." Naruto scoffed and opened his paper first in order to prevent Sasuke from taking away his turn.
"Your hair." Naruto made the paper dance in his fingers as he took a hyper bite at his lip, his dandelion colored hair vacillated against the soft bow of his sandlewood skin. Sasuke tried to be horribly upset with Naruto for 'liking' his hair when just a few minutes ago he called him a rooster. But he couldn't do it. All he did was glare at the beauty from across the oval table. The hypocritical teen better be thankful that he was perfect in every way. Any exceptions and he would be counting his prayers right about now.
"I thought you said my hair was that of a rooster or a duck's ass. Forgive me—sometimes your idiocy doesn't penetrate."
Naruto gritted his teeth, not allowing Sasuke to ruin his mood on this stunning night, although he was pushing him close to the wire.
"I. Like. Your. Hair. Okay? But I also like to pull your leg. Is that a good enough explanation for you?" Naruto explained, extending his hand into the glossy strands of Sasuke's hair, fathoming how wonderfully slick and straight it was. His bangs were calm against his forehead and the additional pieces of hair peacefully rested against his jaw. Naruto concluded he must have had his mother's hair—it was too sleek to originate from his father's side.
Hell, for all knew, Sasuke probably looked exactly like his mom.
Nice and pretty.
Naruto held back the snicker while he actively remembered having an inner battle in his hospitality class as he decided between Sasuke's hair and his eyes. It was a close call. He loved Sasuke's grey eyes. He had never seen eyes like his before and they always made him giddy like a groupie girl. But he still chose Sasuke's odd hairstyle.
"It's unique and I like it like this. So don't change it."
Okay, he might have been over playing his stance but he still stood by what he said.
"But I was getting a haircut next week…"
"What?!" Naruto immediately straightened his spine, alert. "Seriously?"
"No," Sasuke said as he sarcastically smirked.
"Stupid," Naruto muttered, angry that Sasuke was joshing him.
"My turn," Sasuke opened his own, elbows leaning on the table.
"My eyes?" Naruto read with an upward inflection, surprised by the choice.
Sasuke nodded soothingly. "They're the… most expressive I've ever seen, not to mention the color. The hue is just… Flabbergasting."
Naruto listened closely, not deterring from the challenging gawk, wishing the spiking heat refused to calm. "So, what exactly do you see when you look into them?"
"I see…" Sasuke licked his lips, crafting his words like a pottery barn specialist. "Wonder, intelligence, confidence, disappointment, pain, hurt…"
Naruto's breath was fire, his heart a drum and his stomach was a bow. Could Sasuke really see all those things in the depth of his eyes? Were his lingering emotions that obvious?
"Am I wrong?" Sasuke temperately asked, the exquisite creature propping his chin on the back of his fingers.
"Um," Naruto scratched the back of his neck, his blazing blue eyes blinking, simulating an odd violet due to the lit flame in the relatively dark but high volume restaurant. "Uh, no. You're actually spot on… Am I really that obvious?"
"No, not necessarily. You're just so interesting that it makes you want to pay attention—closely." Sasuke smirked, leaning off his hand.
Naruto chuckled at the complement, "Ahh, prince charming. Where art thou crown?"
"On my queen," Sasuke smiled, his touch roasting Naruto's hand.
Naruto blushed with a giggle as his blood ran like rivers of blue flames.
"In that case, prince charming deserves a present..." Naruto showed Sasuke the third piece of his 'in-school' creation. With rhapsody, grey eyes roved over the sharpied digits on the slim paper. Sasuke smirked and leaned forward once again.
"Did I earn this?" Sasuke admired the small 'Call me' with an open heart written beside the number.
"Yeah, I think you did." Naruto smiled as Sasuke's surprise waned and as he finally accepted the paper.
"That's funny." Sasuke smirked mixing the slip of Naruto's mobile number into his.
"Why?" Naruto playfully asked, a slight smile kicking at his lips.
"Because…" Sasuke handed Naruto a folded slip.
"I was thinking the same thing," Sasuke said as a smile hit Naruto like a ton of bricks.
"Oh, aren't I lucky?" Naruto asked, scanning the number written on it with a small 'call me' written echoed flirtation. Surprisingly, when Naruto looked at the model of perfection, he saw an unhealthy obsession swimming. It consisted of never-ending affection and respect merged with concern. Wholeness. Happiness. With him. Returning from a pit of omitted obliviousness, Naruto finally grasped that with limited effort, he could romantically have Sasuke. Regardless of Sakura, they could be one, if Naruto wished it to be.
It would only be fair. All those times Sakura crushed his confidence over love prospects and even resorted stole said love interests all seemed trivial. But it was different this time. This time the boyfriend was smitten with…him. It was a startling apprehension, but satisfying nonetheless.
"Not really, you earned it." As Naruto's rays of loveliness poured in like sunshine, warming him like a hot summer's day, Sasuke's eyes lidded. If he looked directly into Naruto's gorgeousness right now, he wouldn't be responsible for what happened to him.
Just in the nick of time, a waiter tended their table, handing them two menus, asking for their choice of drinks. Sasuke requested two sparkling waters, waving the employee away menacingly.
Naruto took the interruption as a silent reprieve. Flipping the menu open, he fleetingly scanned it looking for something on the menu he could partially understand.
Sasuke saved him from making a grave mistake by suggesting a food choice that was sure to enjoy. Naruto took his word for it and ordered just that.
The simple white candle emitted a bright burst of sealed their privacy around the elegant table cloth. The stingy amber flames represented their undying lust. They suppressed their blatant desires as the rest of the night was history.
…
They stopped in front of Naruto's door and occupied the silent space of the hallway. It wasn't particularly late, but Sasuke was determined to return Naruto to his house safe and sound.
"How did you know the halberd was going to be so good? Have you eaten there before or something?" Naruto asked, trying to mask his suspicion.
Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah, a few times but…" Sasuke brushed Naruto's hair clear of his eyes. "This is my favorite by far."
Naruto shyly laughed, grabbing the pleated edge of Sasuke's shirt, baiting him in with a firm tug. His translucent eyes twinkled in the fluorescent corridor lights made Sasuke strikingly more attentive.
"And why was it your favorite?" Naruto's gaze transferred to his buttons, meticulously smoothing the kinks in his predominantly wrinkleless shirt.
"Because I had something to concentrate on besides the food."
"The sparkling water, right?" Naruto smiled.
"Yes, the sparkling water." Sasuke brandished Naruto with one of his hot, slanted smirks and he nearly died from the impact.
In an exasperated instance of pleasurable silence, Naruto tapered off the conversation at his doorway. "Well, I better be hittin' the ol' sack now."
"Try not to spend the entire night masturbating to face."
Naruto snapped his fingers in surprised frustration. "Damn, you caught me."
"Red handed," Sasuke muttered, bowing against Naruto's cheek, cradling both sides of his face, and pressing an intimate kiss against his jaw. As the blond's eyes fluttered closed, he kissed Sasuke back in an identical place. Like a shattered thermometer, his body temperature rose above appropriate boundaries. Sasuke advanced a step, causing him to tumble into the hard door, carrying his body in tow. Flattened against one another, Naruto giggled at the feather touch of Sasuke's dashing nose and rigidness of his firm body.
His heart fluttered as he adored Sasuke's intense affections. He nuzzled him softly, his airy breaths verifying a shortness of oxygen between them. They moved in closer, enjoying the thickening tension amassing between them. A guttural grunt in Sasuke's throat resulted in Naruto's swelling erection. Feeling his dry mouth swell, he swallowed a wad of spit. He grazed the side of Sasuke's neck lightly, creating shutters in the older man's body. His hand detoured to his pants pockets, the hardness of his new 'problem' becoming more apparent.
Feeling his blood turn into hot syrup, he feared just might spend the night touching himself to Sasuke's face. Maybe.
"G'night Suke," Naruto breathily whispered, twirling Sasuke's bangs around his left index finger, teasingly. Surprised that gave Sasuke less than he expected, he pulled away and jiggled key into the lock and disappeared into the living room, leaving Sasuke feeling like he wanted to follow inside.
Sasuke stared at the door, his eagerness steadying as he walked away, feeling like he just entered the lottery.
Because he just won the fucking jackpot.
…
Gaara poured a classy glass of sparkling margarita base, trying to prepare his apartment despite the old-new nuisance's company. He glanced over his shoulder at the undecorated wall near his rather plain bedroom. He immediately he glared at the sight for sore eyes with a new vengeance. Subconsciously, he willed him to a hot, hot place with no possibility of parole. Said hated figure crossed their arms and raised the perfect eyebrow that Gaara couldn't erase from his memory even if he tried.
Tilting the glass, Gaara articulated what his body already language screamed. "This isn't a pleasure meeting,"
The silver eyed man's eyes squinted with sadistic hilarity. "Why because we're not strung out—so high that M becomes the first letter of the alphabet?"
Gaara looked at the slick chocolate mane framing the man's gracefully angular face. Suddenly, his anger intensified as he remembered all the nights stroked his long hair in concentrated adulation because he thought it was real. Because he thought that they were real.
"No, because your self-invitation is unwelcome."
Gaara walked into the kitchen and separated the drugs equally, all the while being pestered. He couldn't let his one setback put him out of his element. It was almost laughable. The man in front of him was a setback considering how special he used to be.
A patronizing snigger rumbled in the void stillness. "Why? Because I'm not him?"
"Don't talk about him," Gaara gritted out, snapping marijuana securely in the ziplock bag for safe keeping.
"Ahhh, so defensive. Scared?" The man stood up straight, a high-rising smirk curling onto his tastefully perfect pale lips. "Or just worried that he might come to his senses just as harshly as I did?"
His smile halted as a wave of former atrocities hit him like a Mack truck. Forgive? Forget? He was crazy to think such emotions were expected of him. Did he think that he would just let you go?
He couldn't. With those memories tangled in his brain, he would never be the same. Gaara would never be the same.
"And discover that you're a destructive, malicious disease that sucks the life from any and everything around him?" He bitterly asked, hate and pure vindictiveness lacing every word.
"Does he share your propensity for drugs? Weed, P pills, cocaine? What does he favor the most?" He asked, figuring that he would again be met with silence.
Still meddling, he pushed on, looking for that comfort underneath Gaara's skin. The place that he was happy once upon a time. "So what is he your boyfriend now? Fuck buddy? Quick fix?"
"That's none of your fucking concern, Neji," Gaara hissed.
Wasn't there a tool that could make him stop talking for five fucking seconds?
He didn't think that there was a tool on Earth that could accomplish that task. He could always slice his tongue out or forcibly drug him. But that wouldn't adequately give him what he wanted. He wanted Neji to fucking silence himself without having to be told, perhaps on a whim.
"Your tone suggests that he's not exactly what you want him to be," Neji taunted with a solitary shoulder shrug. "What even makes you think that he wants you anyway?" He haughtily asked.
Gaara connected with spiteful grey eyes feeling like he had just been slapped in the face multiple times, hard. "Shut up."
Neji slunk forward, tracking Gaara like a sneaky predator, sniffing out his weaknesses with his keen sense. "What makes you think he wants you, when it's so blaringly obvious that you still want me?"
The brunet leaped on Gaara's flagrant vulnerability, harming, hurting with his sledgehammer for words. Nearing the unstable nuclear shell of the notorious Gaara Subaku, Neji could barely contain himself—in more ways than one.
"I know you do—he can't replace me. Everything we had—"
Straining a short distance from the riled redhead with every emotion breathed, living, rousing, Gaara intercepted Neji's short monologue with a harsh ravishing to his mouth. Hot and needy with past memories and forgotten emotions, Gaara crushed their pelvises together in a furious heat. Tongues spewing saliva slid against one another as moans that they didn't recognize echoed off the plain, white, white walls. They moved together in their accustomed sexually romantic correspondence that was as sophisticated as a fox trot but as wild and tangy as a jive. They moved to a private place with a bed.
Neji's wet, tender lips whispered unvarnished truth against the shell of the vehemently animalistic man. "You'll never forget me…"
…
Several rounds of hot, sweaty sex set the mood for regret in the lightless room.
Gaara felt his head pound as multiple reiterations of 'I told you so.'
"You know if you really loved him then you wouldn't have done that,"Neji mumbled to the pile of limbs beside him coated in a shallow sweaty sheen.
Exhausted from previous 'vigorous' activities, Neji's damp hair clung to his forehead and the back of his neck as he haphazardly threw his clothes on, from the bed's edge. "But we all how your love operates…Gaara," He spat.
Gaara's head of red locks incredulously looked at the perfectly sculpted male, muscles working, fingers tousled as he wondered. How did they reach here?
As he adamantly prided on his impressive influence over his gullible old flame, Neji proceeded to endanger the state of Gaara's fucked up mental health until he felt like something broke. "Well, at least, this is some type of vindication and… verification that I'm not the only one you lie to." Neji smirked over his shoulder at the silently shocked nude male to see what had just recently transpired between them.
The rate of manipulation between them was high but the level trust wasn't.
As he pulled his shirt over his head, Neji glanced at the dementedly aggravated college student with triumph. "No need to worry. I'll let myself out."
...
Naruto was punted by an odd eeriness as he trotted through Gaara's apartment. Strangely, he was met with an unresponsive human statue paused in motion. "Hey," Naruto mumbled under his breath.
"Where have you been, lately?" Gaara irrational dissatisfaction was worn like a mask, confusing Naruto. Was something he did bothering him? Or was it beyond his comprehension?
Naruto smelled the incense in conjunction of the freshly lit blunt as he sat next to his classmate. "Around… Why?"
He didn't receive a reply. Naruto perceived it as a hint of possible jealousy. Naruto smirked playfully. He knew the saying—"absence makes the heart fonder." And this seemed like a case where this definitely applied.
"Did you miss me?" Naruto intimately drew him in by the neck, and aimed for his lips but missed, kissing the corner of his mouth instead. Gaara physically distanced himself from the affectionate gestures.
Naruto frowned at his reaction. "What's the matter?"
Gaara rigidly stood up, robotically walking to the balcony door.
"Is there something wrong?" Naruto asked again, wishing he would receive an answer.
"I think you should go…" Gaara washed his face with his hands, still feeling the sensation of Neji's placid skin against his, dancing, pumping the incessant pleasure that drained him of all vitality.
Mint green eyes stuck to the depressing hurt expression. Guilt raided his body and he needed alone time so he could think clearly without any outside influences.
He had made a mistake and Naruto being here was constantly reminding him of that.
"Now," Gaara emphasized with a flash of rage, causing the fickle blond to wholeheartedly obey. He would usually impose an explanation on the feisty man but it was apparent that the result would be nonconductive and only cause anger to further circulate.
When he was left in the vacancy of his true loneliness, void of Neji and Naruto, he felt the riveting dingy mistake's adhesive begin to latch onto his conscious. In a burst of anger, he thrust his fist into the wall with unnerving strength, dreading that he could still taste the scent of the destructive Hyuuga on the tip of his tongue.
…
Lately, when Gaara kissed him, it felt empty, worried, and repentant. He didn't understand the mournful taste on his lips. They were a unit—he was supposed to lean on him a little and tell him if something was honestly troubling him.
He knew Gaara was never good at sharing his feelings which was fine until it severed the bond they had. They were supposed to trust one another and express their tribulations in order to relieve some pressure.
But Gaara wasn't doing that.
And it was hurting him.
He was already concerned that he was beginning to crack when his thoughts began to supersede Gaara and bleed into Sasuke territory.
He would find himself wondering where he was, what he was doing, and if he was missing him. Then, he remembered that no one would miss him besides Gaara. He was everyone's burden. The one that everyone wanted to be rid of—permanently.
He constantly thought about it, causing his steady drug use to increase. More pills, more shots, and sometimes needles. They didn't offer much relief but they did successfully numb the pain for a short period of time.
Gaara would suggest the drug and he would try them. Because he would never do anything to hurt him, ever.
It was what he needed to get by and Gaara knew that. It was causal practice for them. And it all seemed to coincide until he remembered Sasuke. Then it all spun off the wheel.
He remembered the feelings and completeness he felt around Sasuke. The need to compensate disappeared, because he felt whole. In the end, it didn't matter because Sasuke didn't care about him… Right?
No, that wasn't true. If Sasuke didn't care about him to some extent, then he would have never had said that to him.
Sasuke believed that he was stronger than the influence.
Sadly, he wasn't.
Every time he took a swig of Bacardi, whiskey and vodka, he felt like he was betraying a promise. He tried to reason that he didn't owe anybody anything, including Sasuke, but it only temporarily pacified him before the guilt wrestled to the top once again.
Would Sasuke be disappointed if he knew? Would he think that he was pathetic pushover that couldn't handle life battles?
Maybe Sasuke wouldn't judge him because of his negative choices. He had been trying. He had refused what Gaara had offered lately. But it was getting harder. Gaara was getting increasingly insistent about them using together. He was more aggressive, oppressive and deeply distant. Something was troubling him but he wouldn't dare say why. Naruto couldn't get him to spill the beans about it. He tried angry methods, persuasive, and provocative ones, all to no avail.
The stunning pale man denied any troubles and assured him that everything that was fine. He wanted to believe him but always remembered how Gaara turned away that night. That action alone didn't seem to add up to the correct answer. Gaara always loved when he took initiative in their fucked up relationship, especially with kisses. Recently, he didn't even get excited by seeing him anymore.
He tried not to think about it too much. He could be overanalyzing the situation with a nonobjective filter, which would only make everything worse. Instead, he concentrated on class deadlines and perfecting his college assignments. He improved the art of boring MLA format. In the eyes of his professors, his essays were increasingly exceptional.
He tried to drown his troubles with school work but even that wasn't enough. So he scheduled longer work hours. In that new endeavor, he finally perfected realistically faking his smile, making the customers think he was the biggest ball of sunshine on the planet.
Even Sasuke thought so, especially when he convinced Sasuke to reconcile with Sakura after she called the Uchiha crying, apologizing over and over. Although it was like doing dentistry work over the phone, Sasuke eventually complied.
Strangely, he was sad that he would have to share Sasuke with Sakura again, he asked him to come over so they could spend their last moments before Sakura stole him away again. Astonishingly, the man appeared in front of his door like Houdini. Straggling the door frame like he always did, Naruto couldn't control the flare destroying his heart from the inside. He loved that he didn't have to ask twice for his company. It was wonderful—until Sasuke looked at him was like he was some treasured gem that worth so much more than what he settled for. It was overwhelming. He had to will himself to stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. He didn't deserve to be looked at like that. He was a worthless drug addict. That's what he was and that's all that he would ever be. He knew that. Everyone at his school knew that. Why couldn't Sasuke figure that out too?
Smirking, Sasuke cupped his cheek, then leaned down tenderly kissed his forehead. Naruto prayed that he didn't break down. Unfortunately, a sob found its exit. "…Hi," the blond muttered sadly, as Sasuke's dark hair clashed with his as he rested his mouth there for a brief moment.
"Hey, are you okay?" The fostering voice broke floodgates of harmony.
Naruto opened his mouth but closed it back. How was he supposed to explain that he was slowly becoming dependent on him without sounding all needy and whiney?
He didn't want to sound like a replacement Sakura. He just … had never felt this important before, let alone been kissed on his forehead before. The delicacy of the kiss made Naruto want do unspeakable things to him—with him—that he was sure to regret.
Sasuke would nurse him back to stable health, if he'd let him but... what if he was irreparable?
Sasuke stood up right, strummed his thumb over his soft cheek, and smiled at him like they had just reunited after a long departure.
Naruto slipped his hand over Sasuke's wrist, a gloomy smile spreading across his face. "I'm okay now."
…
A few days down the road, the quiet pitter patter of the rain had the same effect on Naruto that a quiet yoga meditation segment would.
But it was two sided coin. He was confined to the four walls of his home because of the dreary ash skies. But, sadly, in Seattle, that's how things were.
It rains and you become a useless hermit, much like Naruto was right now.
While he was hugging giant frog on the floor, Naruto intently blinked, remembering that Sasuke was behind him, laid up on his couch lazy pile of bones he was. He immediately sat up like there was something urgent. With his arm cast over his brow, Sasuke peeked at him with one glittering grey eye.
"Something wrong?" As Sasuke rocked his leg off the edge of the couch, Naruto mischievously looked at it, giving Sasuke reasonable cause for suspicion.
He knew exactly what they could do instead of just lazing around like spiritless bums. "I have a confession to make."
"A confession?" Sasuke felt like he should sit up for this one but he didn't. There was no way he was going to let's Naruto's quirkiness ruin his solace.
"Yes." Naruto sat his frog up and sat Indian style facing Sasuke. "Something no one else knows about me." Naruto shook his scalp of sparkling champagne colored hair with a conspiratorial smile twisted on his pretty pink lips.
"Yeah?... And what would that be?" Sasuke leaned on his elbow and weaved his hand into his hair, trying to contain his irresistible interest in the subject matter.
What was he going to say?
"I have an extensive…collection." Naruto muttered unclearly.
"You have a what collection?" Sasuke asked testily.
"Porn collection," He recapped with a proud smile.
Sasuke felt a certain part of anatomy jump at the mention. Porn and Naruto? Honestly, the combination sounded delicious although he wasn't much of a porn admirer himself. If he claimed he was never interested, he would have been a bold faced liar. He was a teenager once after all—a very bad one—but that wasn't the point.
For some reason, he didn't really peg Naruto as the secret pervert type but he guessed he was wrong.
Now that he thought about it, someone so cute couldn't be the least bit non-sexual. Was that even possible?
"You like to watch porn?" Sasuke asked, rightfully dumbfounded.
"Like!? Love," Naruto gushed with red cheeks, getting hot at the thought.
"Is this like something you do… in your free time?" Sasuke tried to clarify without outright asking if he was addicted.
"Yeah, you could say it's a hobby."
Naruto sagaciously skimmed Sasuke for vulnerabilities. As Sasuke scandalized twitched, he spotted his target and crawled toward him like a small kitten. His tiny hands skulked toward the amazed Uchiha clandestine motive unscathed.
Sasuke was frozen in place, unable to avoid the small body that was wanton with hot, insatiable need. He hiked up on Sasuke, one hand finding his shoulder and the other venturing beneath the white t-shirt. He buried his face into Sasuke's, nuzzling, silky skin blackening the older man's vision with an imprint of stars. His heart pounded against his ribs like a hammer to nail as he felt Naruto's marshmallow lips collide with his sensitive ears. "Watch it with me, please?"
…
Maybe leave me a review, it'd cheer me up a bit and I'll probably update a little faster.
Next chapter, you'll find out the deal with Naruto and Gaara, maybe Neji.