Chapter Two - I Just Want to Sing a Song With You
"I believe I already explained the situation to you, Hidan." Sasuke growled darkly into the phone, keeping his voice low as Naruto was only a few feet away. "I no longer have any part in the business that took place between you and my brother-," He paused as the gravelly voice on the other side of the line cut him off, throwing a glance over his shoulder to the snoring blonde. "No, but if Kakuzu is still concerned about authorities, he can take it up with Itachi as soon as he's let on probation." Slamming the phone back into the receiver, Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
A soft groan came from the couch, followed by a mumbled, "Whaddappened?" Sasuke rolled his eyes while padding softly into the elegant living room and sinking onto the pristinely white couch next to the dozing teen. He stretched across the barely conscious Naruto to retrieve the calculus textbook that had dropped to the floor and flipped it open.
"You're studying, Naruto." He reminded cynically, letting the heavy book drop into the other's lap, causing the blonde to let out a sharp cry and effectively wake him up. "Because if you don't pull this grade up, your marks will drop below even Kiba's." Naruto grumbled something along the lines of 'math is stupid' in response and sat up straighter, crossing his legs and turning his attention to the monotonous book. Sasuke let out a soft exhale, leaning back into the couch, his own attention turning back to the conversation he had been forced into minutes earlier. Persistent ass... He thought to himself, letting his eyes slip closed. Even if I did know where Itachi got pseudo, things have changed. It's not only me that would be at risk. His ebony colored eyes slid open a crack, glancing over to a struggling Naruto, who snapped the book closed with a growl.
"This is a waste of time, ya know." The blonde muttered, discarding the book on the coffee table. He turned back to Sasuke, who was watching out of nearly-closed eyes. "Like I'm ever going to actually use it later." Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto sat right next to him and leaned his head on the slightly taller boy's shoulder, letting his hand rest on Sasuke's hard stomach. "Besides, I can think of something much funner to do." His voice dropped to a low purr, his hand creeping lower on Sasuke's torso.
"As curious as I am as to what you have in mind," Sasuke said quickly, stopping Naruto's hand in a firm grip. "You have a test tomorrow, and Asuma is unlikely to curve the scores." He hurriedly pushed himself to his feet, turning back to face the pouting blonde. "Besides," Leaning close to Naruto, he placed a thin finger under his chin, tilting the wide-eyed teen's jaw up to meet his eyes. "You know where I stand on... Intimacy."
Sasuke straightened and made his way into the kitchen to begin cooking dinner for them both (a job that he had taken upon himself to do after watching Naruto eat nothing but instant ramen for three days straight). As he entered the spotless kitchen he heard a muttered 'abstinence is stupid' from behind, causing him to roll his eyes once more.
It wasn't that Sasuke was concerned about the well-being of his soul; actually the thought made him laugh bitterly, for that was long overdue. Sasuke sighed deeply, switching the tap on and running his hands under the water. Maybe it was stupid and old-fashioned... But with Naruto unable to confess to his 'friends' that they were even dating and the fact that neither of them had yet to come out and said the 'L' word...
"Sasuke?" Turning around, his eyes fell upon Naruto, standing in the doorway to the kitchen, biting on his lip with his hands in his pockets. Sasuke turned back to the sink and switched it off, keeping his back to the concerned-looking blonde. "Sasuke, I'm sorry. I know how ya feel about that and I shouldn't be trying to push you into something you're not, ya know, comfortable with." Naruto's face turned downwards, his eyes sliding to glance at the raven-haired boy who had turned to face him. Sasuke crossed his arms and leaned back against the counter, his eyes narrowing into black slits.
"No, you shouldn't." Came his stark reply, his lips turning downwards. Naruto's eyes widened slightly at Sasuke's bluntness and parted his lips to speak, only for his words to be cut off as Sasuke let a small half-smile tilt his features. "But I forgive you." Naruto broke out into a wide grin and quickly crossed the room to throw his arms around a shocked Sasuke's waist, giggling in quite a manly manner. Sasuke returned the hug after a second's hesitation and then broke away to gently run his fingers through Naruto's spikey blonde hair, a soft smile on his lips.
"And because you're obviously through with studying, go wash your hands and help-, Uh, actually that's okay." Sasuke stammered, quickly correcting himself. Naruto's face slid into a pout.
"Commonn!" He protested with puppy-dog eyes. "I'm an awesome cook!"
"Naruto, you burnt water." Came Sasuke's simple reply as he crossed his arms over his chest. Naruto grinned sheepishly. "But... I wouldn't mind you staying to keep me company." His eyes immediately lit up while he fist-pumped the air.
"Yusshh!" Naruto grinned, jumping up to sit on the island behind him. "I will be the best company-keeper ever, ya know!"
"Tch-," Sasuke shook his head at the blonde's antics and drew a sharp knife out of a drawer. As he began to cut up a bowl of freshly washed strawberries, the harsh trill of the phone rang throughout the room, cutting off Naruto's rundown of what happened during lunch that day.
"I got it!" Naruto cried, hopping off the counter and crossing to the phone, his voice slightly mischevious. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, but continued to expertly slice the red fruit without a second thought.
"Joe's Crematorium, you kill 'em, we grill 'em." Naruto answered, turning around to lean against the wall, facing Sasuke who shook his head while suppressing a grin.
"I was unaware of how quickly losing his partner would drive Sasuke to desperation for a job." A voice answered slyly, dripping a menace that caused even Naruto's smile to fade. "Would he happen to be around?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow and held the phone out to Sasuke, who wiped his hands off and quickly took the phone, his eyes shadowed.
"Who is this?" He muttered darkly, turning from Naruto's questioning gaze.
"I don't appreciate you avoiding my attempts to contact you, Uchiha." Sasuke stiffened, his lips curling into a scowl.
"You must have the wrong number." He answered sharply, his senses overly-conscious of Naruto standing only a few feet away. "No one here has any interest in your business."
"You know you cannot run from this forever. Sooner or later they're going to find out who it was that made what I sold. And you of all people know how desperate an addict can get for a single hit." The voice threatened, like honey poured over shards of ice. Sasuke immediately placed the phone back into the receiver, the pallor of his already pale skin draining.
"Sasuke?" Naruto jumped back up onto the counter, snatching a slice of strawberry and placing it on his tongue. "Who was that?"
"DirectTV." Sasuke answered smoothly, shaking his head and turning back to the happy-go-lucky blonde. He slowly walked back to the counter and picked up the knife, continuing to slice the sweet fruit. Naruto nodded and hopped off the counter, crossing to a sleek sound system across the room and plopping himself down in front of it. He pulled out a cd from it's case and placed it in the tray, ignoring Sasuke's lightly questioning gaze. As the upbeat chords of a song that was popular way too long ago echoed throughout the empty house, Sasuke chuckled softly, shaking his head.
"Whaat?" Naruto asked, his tone slightly offended. "Nothin' wrong with a little All-American Reject." He jumped back up onto the counter, crossing his arms while waiting for a reply.
"No, it's just-." Slightly ironic, he thought to himself, suppressing a bitter laugh. "Nothing, don't worry about it." Naruto scowled and stuck out his tongue, only to flash the raven a grin.
"Well I like it." He boasted, starting to purposefully sing off-key along with the music, causing Sasuke to cringe. Naruto laughed at his reaction, but switched to match the correct key, his voice... Bearable. Sasuke rolled his eyes yet again, smiling softly to himself as he began to put ingredients away that he had finished using. As he let the refridgerator shut, the song switched, this time to something much slower. Sasuke raised an eyebrow but said nothing as Naruto continued to sing along to the overly-romantic lyrics.
"I can help you to stand~" He clutched at his chest dramatically, throwing out his hand in Sasuke's direction, causing the teen to flush unexpectedly. Naruto laughed softly and slid off the counter to pull Sasuke into a close hug, slightly standing on his toes to press their foreheads together.
"Heh~" Naruto chuckled softly at the color flushing under Sasuke's cheeks. "Embarrassed by romance, Uchiha?" He teased, his sparkling blue eyes meeting Sasuke's deep black ones.
"Not in the slightest... Blue eyes." The slightly taller boy answered, a sly smile spreading across his lips as the blonde blushed deeply. He kept their gazes locked, each one studying the other's eyes. It seemed like an eternity before the song change broke their gaze.
They both stepped back from each other, chuckling nervously. Sasuke ran a hand through his hair and exhaled deeply, the smile on his lips refusing to fade.
"Now stop distracting me and go eat." He commanded seriously, stepping out of the blonde's path. Naruto grinned guiltily and sat at the metal table, his face turning to one of horror as he took in the plate before him.
"What... What is this?" He stammered, holding up a green leaf, terror in his eyes. Sasuke glanced over and rolled his eyes.
"That would be spinach, Naruto."
Song List:
Dirty Little Secret - All-American Rejects
Blue Eyes - Cary Brothers
500 Miles - The Proclaimers
Author's Note:
So I try. I try SO HARD to not make either one of them ridiculously and annoyingly feminine. But it's so freakin' difficult. So forgive me, please if Naruto makes you want to die sometimes. ^_^'